Careful What You Wish For
by Hinterland Seer
Summary: Wishes can be powerful things, and when used carelessly, can do far more harm than anyone, or anypony, could imagine. Follow the tale of a certain purple princess as she learns this in an unfortunate manner.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: The original idea for this story came from Retro Mania, who gave me the idea to do this story, and helped me plan out what was going to happen._

Chapter 1

"Hey Twilight, the girls and I are heading to Sugarcube for some snacks, you coming?" Starlight called from the library entrance. Just behind her, the five other bearers of the Elements waited for their studious researcher of a friend. Twilight looked up from the four books resting open on a desk before her, smiling when she saw her friends, deciding that the books she was sifting through could wait.

"Yeah. Just give me a moment to get ready. Spike!" The purple alicorn shouted into the depths of her shiny gem-layered castle. At her call, the tiny purple dragon came rushing in from behind the waiting group, standing at attention before his master.

"Yes, Twilight?"

"I need you to clean this place up." He glanced around, piles of books lay around in various locations, heaps of notes scattered round the room, shelves were stripped of their glorious books. He groaned loudly before his attention returned to Twilight.

"But, this place is a mess!" He started to protest, but was cut off.

"I would, but I'm sure my Number 1 assistant is far more capable of cleaning this in no time." She offered her best puppy eyes, hoping to convince him to cover her mess while she spent time outside. "I'm sure Rarity would be extremely thankful to you if she was able to spend time with her friends."

At the mention of his crush, he cast his glance over to where the white mare herself stood just behind Starlight, having heard her name. He saw her at the door, and his eyes morphed into hearts, beating out and reaching for what he could only dream of. If it meant he would gain graces in her eyes, he was willing to cross the world. "Well, when you put it like that. I guess it has been a while since I reorganized the library. You can count on me!"

Twilight rushed forward and wrapped Spike in a hug, before gently planting him back on the ground. He finished his salute, and he was just able to blink before the group of ponies before him were gone. He chuckled to himself before turning to the stacks and stacks of books he would spend the better part of an hour moving.

Starlight and Twilight left the library room in the castle, followed by Rainbow Dash hovering above them, Rarity and Applejack walking at a sedate pace, Fluttershy shuffling like her normal self, and Pinkie. . . Well, Pinkie just being Pinkie. It exasperated the group to no end whenever Pinkie got into one of her 'moods' where everything became a party, but they loved her nonetheless.

Pinkie led the group outside the castle, positively beaming at a chance to celebrate for any reason, and the reason for this trip to Sugarcube: it was just a wonderful winter day. The snow was fresh, powdery, and delightfully fun to play in, and on the walk through town, she was constantly rolling in it. After all, Hearth's Warming was coming up very soon, and that was a super special occasion. It only happened once a year, so she had to make sure it was the best Hearth's Warming Party ever!

She made that opinion known to the world by shouting it across the land, inhaling so deeply she sucked up air in a vortex. Then that air was returned to the air in the form of a voice so loud, it shouldn't have been able to come from a pony, earth pony or not. Starlight and Twilight shared a playful look, sharing the feeling of the overbearing, mysterious, energetic being known as Pinkamena Diane Pie.

 _Just where does she get all this energy? Is she solar-powered? Maybe she converts all those sugary treats into pure energy?_ Twilight couldn't help but wonder, as that pink earth pony was always an enigma to all that was science.

"Say Twilight?" Said purple princess turned her attention to who was addressing her, directing at the other earth pony in their group; Applejack. "What were ya doin' all holed up the castle? Surely there can't be much more left for you to study, the Princess Celestia ain't got anythin' left to teach ya."

Twilight smiled at the mention of her old mentor, whom she still sent letters to regarding her troubles and discoveries in friendship. Old habits die hard.

"Oh, I was just doing some light reading, as I wanted to refresh my memory on the oldest traditions in Equestria. Hearth's Warming is coming up, as Pinkie oh so energetically said, and I wanted some historical information about the event that led to it becoming officially a holiday. I want this to be a Hearth's Warming that will be remembered, and I have a plan for the gifts I want to get you all to mark the celebration." She explained, the group not breaking stride as they headed towards the bakery that resembled delectable treats, somehow still standing and not being mistaken by the young foals in Ponyville. Rainbow Dash and Applejack shared a look that they had shared on more than one occasion regarding their friend's choice in knowledge over everything.

It was something that they had come to expect from the resident walking library, she always wanted to know everything. They resumed the pace, encouraging the now snow-covered Pinkie to shake off her literal winter cloak before entering the facility of childish dreams come true.

Inside Sugarcube Corner, several of Ponyville's inhabitants were already sitting around tables and stools enjoying their sugary treats. The girls grabbed a corner booth, one of exactly two in the bakery that could seat the seven of them, while Pinkie bounced off into the depths of the kitchen planning that which only she would know. Once their bouncing pink friend had left, Twilight turned to the others engaging in a conversation.

"Rarity, how goes the Boutiques in Canterlot and Manehattan?" She asked in sincere curiosity, inciting the white fashionista's ears to swivel forward at the mention of her fashion lines. "Last I heard, your most recent lines have been doing really well."

"Why, thank you darling. My latest lines are just doing absolutely marvelous, I have called them 'Bold in the Cold,' and 'Warm but Wonderful.' They are quite the hit this wonderful season." He happily replied, making extravagant gestures when she mentioned the titles of her line, nodding all the while. When she finished, the group was smiling for her, happy that a friend was being successful in something she adored.

"Well, you are a genius in making good clothes." Fluttershy's response came out as positively as she could sound, though it was still in her meek tone, but she was smiling anyway. The group nodded in agreement, inciting the ivory-cloaked unicorn to wave off the compliments in modesty.

"Please, girls. I simply have vision, it takes only the absolute best to truly make trends, I am but a simple fashion designer."

"Who happened to get the attention of every major fashion designer everywhere." Starlight added, offering her friend a smile to encourage her to take the compliments as they were. "You are a very talented designer, don't hold yourself back. You know you do great things, and these are just seasonal projects you were working on. Besides, from what I have heard, you have set many trends."

Rarity smiled at her in thanks, before the sudden appearance of their pink friend caused the group to flinch away from the table. One moment it was bare of anything, the next; sweets piled over the table, some splashing onto the mares seated. Of those to fall victim to Pinkie's spray of snacks, Twilight received the worst, completely engulfed by sugary treats, cakes and pie were all that could be seen of her.

"Pinkie!" The group heard the groan escape from the heap of baked goods. Said pink pony just giggled an apology, before her massive tongue again broke physics and stretched from across the table, wrapping around the cakes and pies, before sucking them all into her mouth, leaving a spotless Twilight sitting there; unsure about the most recent act of her friend. She looked over her body, then shuddered as she thought about it.

"Uh, Twilight darling? Would you mind going to the filly's room and washing up? I don't think that was entirely sanitary." Rarity asked, to which the other girls nodded vigorously. Twilight stared deadpan at Pinkie Pie, before nodding in agreement and working her way out of the booth. While she walked through the bakery, she heard Starlight chastising Pinkie lightly for engulfing them in foods. It was lighthearted, and she knew Pinkie didn't mean it, but it was still irritating her. She figured a moment to breath would be good, so she let it pass.

As soon as Twilight has disappeared from sight, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie burst out laughing, the obscenity of the situation unbearable for them. Soon, the rest of the group joined in, knowing Pinkie's antics would always be the highlights of their days, as the earth pony did have a talent for making others laugh. Starlight and Apple jack were the first to recover.

"Seriously though, I think maybe you should hold back on the sugar, Pinkie. That much can't be healthy, even for you." Starlight spoke with a slight amount of concern for her friend's wellbeing.

It was Applejack who came to defend her pinkie, sugar-devouring friend. "Now, now sugarcube. Pinkie here is a problem ain't no pony going to understand anytime soon. She could eat all the sugar in the world an' be as right as a summer breeze while you're buckin' apples."

Starlight stared at Applejack, a purely dumbfounded face detailing the exact confusion she was feeling then. Applejack's smile was just beginning to fade when Starlight caught on, understanding the intention behind the farmer's words. She looked over at the pink party pony happily chowing away the food before them all. She waited for a moment before using her magic to pull a cupcake over to her, looking it over before shrugging and taking a bite. The rest of the group followed suit shortly after, though after Pinkie had started, there was little food left.

However, by the time Twilight had returned from the restroom, cleaned up from the attack from Pinkie's tongue, there was still enough food for her to get something to eat.

When the food had been devoured by the girls, they sat in the booth, discussing various things in their lives, consisting mainly of Rarity talking about her fashion and Rainbow Dash bragging about her training with the Wonderbolts. The others would listen to the speaker, smiling and nodding all the while. Eventually, Pinkie got bored of the sitting and talking, as she was out of food, and suggested going outside and playing in the snow.

The girls happily agreed, slowly climbing out of the booth and wrapping themselves in their scarves while preparing for the winter wonderland outside. Exiting the building, Rainbow Dash burst forth and dived into a heap of snow, followed by an enthusiastic Pinkie the rest of the group followed shortly after, enjoying the spirit of the season, knowing sooner than later, the holidays will be gone, followed by the snow. And then everything will return to dullness. They enjoyed what they had while they had it something that they had gone over more than once along their studious journeys.

Something Twilight really wished she was able to do was convince her friends that her studies could have been equally as fun. They never listened of course, but she always tried the same. This particular day, however, she felt like her studies just needed a bit of a break, and that the fresh air and time with her friends would be beneficial.

And so play outside she did, engaging in a snowball fight with Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. The rest of the girls split into two teams, though Fluttershy didn't really participate, something they would have been surprised by if she had.

After a long and grueling duel between the two sides, it was declared a draw by the Princess of Friendship, neither side willing to yield, while neither could gain an advantage to force the other's submission. The draw was called when Fluttershy, who had been sitting off to one side, began to sneeze, sniffing with a red nose. The group decided that it would be best to spend the remaining day inside, where it was warm, and there was little chance of them catching anything. They went back to the castle.

Twilight took the opportunity to head to her laboratory to set up some of her studies for later, while Starlight went into the library to collect Spike, who should have been done by then.

The purple unicorn went through the doors, passing into the large library only a pony like Twilight could have desired. Inside, she was greeted to clean floors, spotless tables, and a sleeping Spike napping in a corner, blanket draped over him, and a comic book in his claws.

She smiled warmly, glad that Spike was taking the rest he undoubtedly deserved, and was just about to turn and silently leave, when a presence at her side distracted her. She rotated her head to see who was beside her, and smiled when she saw her old mentor sharing the blissful gaze on her number one assistant. She rested her gaze back on the sleeping baby dragon, who was mumbling in his slumber.

"He looks so peaceful when he sleeps like this, I just wish he didn't have to work so hard." Twilight whispered, turning with her former student to leave the room. The purple pair walked outside, to meet the gazes of the rest, who were wondering both about the lack of a certain purple dragon, and why both were smiling extravagantly. After Twilight cast a single glance back into the library, smile still plastered to her face, the rest put the pieces together, and the smiles spread across the remaining friends.

"Ah take it our little Spike is busy napping, and will be undisturbed?" Applejack asked lightheartedly, and some of them nodded in affirmation.

"Aw." Came collectively from the group, they were all sharing the same expression of happiness and joy. Fluttershy spoke up, ready to find a place to sit down and rest, sniffling the whole time. "I think we should let him get his rest, he sure does deserve it after all the hard work he does around here."

The group nodded in agreement, once again, and left the entrance to the library. They walked through the empty halls, decorated with simple paintings here and there, but for the most part bare of any other furnishings. The halls needed little decorations, though, as the shining gemstones that made up the walls were enough to look at for any sane pony or dragon. The seven girls found it difficult to bring up a topic to the others, so they just walked on in silence, hoofsteps ringing along the barren walls.

Eventually, they settled in the main chamber, sitting in various chairs or on the couches, all wrapped around the burning fireplace. A growing fire that Starlight had started using her magic, much to the approval of Twilight.

Rarity took a whole couch to herself, buried under a massive blanket that she had picked from the offered coverings Twilight so generously provided. And as such, Twilight found herself pressed tightly between both Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, each of which were taking advantage of the situation to press and poke their princess friend. Twilight's mood was slowly souring as the 'friends' on either side of her continued to giggle and prod her sides, Pinkie oblivious to her friend's growing irritation, while Rainbow Dash relished in it.

While the other four mares around the room were enjoying themselves, Twilight felt the pressure growing inside of her, begging to be released. Finally, Rainbow became aware of the irritation in Twilight, and backed off, flying to the other side of the room, giving the princess room to breathe and calm down. Chuckling as she apologized don her way over, which caught the attention of the other ponies. The first to react was Starlight, who tried to diffuse the situation before it went out of control, standing and walking over to her ex-mentor.

She put a gentle hoof on Twilight's shoulder, offering a calming smile at her red-faced friend. Twilight saw the concern in her eyes, then decided to take a deep breath, centering herself so she didn't lose control.

"Sorry girls. It has just been a really long week, and I have been really stressed about your gifts." She breathed out in relief, glad to have gotten that out of her system.

"Oh, darling. You really shouldn't worry about the gifts, you should know that no matter what, we will love them, because you are our friend, and friends care for one another." Rarity offered, though she remained seated exactly where she was, draped across the couch while taking shelter underneath the thick blanket. "We understand that you put a lot of effort into making us happy, even if it isn't necessary."

"Especially when it ain't necessary." Applejack interjected, prompting a smile to crack Twilight's face open, always enjoying the little things that Applejack and Rarity bickered over. She was grateful that they were trying to help her out, and so she thanked them for their effort and they all went over to her and embraced her in a group hug.

"It is the season to be happy, and how can I be angry at you girls. You are all amazing." Twilight said from within the group, causing the hug to tighten. When the group separated and returned to their seats, Twilight started to head out to go to the kitchen. She stopped at the door and turned to the questioning glances of her friends, flashing a smile and nodding in the direction of the kitchen. "So, who wants cocoa?"

All the girls spoke at the same time, a jumbled mixture of their voices all giving the same affirmative answer, very enthusiastically. Twilight happily nodded at their shared response, leaving them to their own devices to prepare their drinks. As soon as she had left the room, Rainbow Dash broke the mood with her honest question: "Are we absolutely sure we want _Twilight_ making our food? I know she's gotten better, but I mean, she is still _Twilight_ , and we all know she has Spike cook for a reason."

That incited them all to share laughter, though Rainbow still had a slightly confused but concerned look on her face. Eventually they left the comment alone, and awaited their purple princess's return.

When the princess returned, they all thanked her for the cocoa, though Rainbow Dash was hesitant about drinking it. The blue pegasus stared at her drink, silently doubted the legitimacy of the chocolate drink, and she sniffed at it cautiously. Rarity and Applejack watched their flying friend's reaction to the drink Twilight had made, doing their best to hide their own giggling to the rainbow-maned pegasus' obvious doubt. After the rest of the group had begun to drink the pleasant beverage, Rainbow Dash finally submitted, carefully taking a small sip from her cup. Finding that it had cooled, but wasn't terrible, she elected to finish it in a large gulp.

When she lowered the cup from her lips, she was met by the gazes of multiple of her friends, who were each wearing a smug expression that she could only grin sheepishly to.

"What, it wasn't that bad." She shrugged, catching the attention of Twilight, who's curious gaze went between a sheepish Rainbow Dash, and the smug-looking Applejack, Rarity and Starlight. Rainbow Dash chuckled to herself and turned to address her purple princess friend, still grinning like mad. "Like I said, Twilight, you have been getting better in the kitchen. And while you aren't exactly a Spike kind of cook, you can hold your own with these smaller things."

Said friend's ears flattened as she stared with an equally flat gaze at the egotistical pegasus, she let out a breath, then closed her eyes and counted to ten. When she opened her eyes, she gave out a smile to the onlooking ponies, trying to reassure them that everything was going to be alright. "Well, thank you Rainbow Dash, and I will make sure to repay this kindness with some more of my smaller cooking. Since you have made it abundantly clear that you just _love_ my cooking skills."

All the girls visibly flinched hearing the barbed comments, passing around mildly confused and equally worried looks between each other.

"Now if you will excuse, I just remembered that I have something that I must attend to right away." The princess made a hasty excuse before teleporting out of the room, leaving the baffled group to wonder just what was wrong with their friend this time. Once she had gone, they all turned to one another and began discussing what it was.

"Okay, so I know that she is usually a bit cranky sometimes, and she does have a habit of berating us, but just what in the hay was that?!" Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up, putting her cup down so she could focus her attention on the others who were just as confused as she was. She looked between the others, hoping one of them could offer an explanation, but none offered anything in response to her query. Eventually, amid the silence, it was the shyest of the group that dared to break the cloud of tension in the room.

"Do you think that maybe we should try to talk with her?" The quiet question went nearly unheard as she asked it into her mane, and it was only through Starlight being right next to her that the question was heard at all. The purple unicorn turned to look at Fluttershy, questions written all over her features. Fluttershy hid behind her mane for a moment when all the rest of the girls turned their attention to her as well, but reappeared when they all were waiting patiently.

"I was just wondering, you know? Maybe she has more on her plate that she could get off." She spoke a little more confidently now that they were listening to her idea, though it was still blanketed by her natural shyness. "If she wants to, of course."

"You know, I think that may be the best option we have here." Applejack offered up, and being the Element of Harmony, her word was taken as the best (and only) option they had. The girls slowly began nodding in agreement, though Rainbow Dash was rather hesitant towards the idea of talking to Twilight so early. Her opinion, which she voiced early into the voting, was that they should give their princess friend time to recover. They debated that, and decided that the sooner this was resolved, the better.

So the group gathered whatever they had brought with them, mostly consisting of coats and scarves and left the room, intending to scour the whole castle in search of Twilight. Clearing the first floor in a matter of moments, they took the stairs to search it for her, and when that didn't yield any princesses, they started going up the towers. Each tower they cleared, the searching became a bit more frantic, as they weren't entirely sure where they could look for Twilight. There were only so many places that she could hide in, and they were going through them rather quickly.

After the final tower was done and searched, they returned to the main hall, where the fire was still burning strong, and where a certain purple dragon was busy cleaning the room. The girls walked in and allowed Starlight to approach the young dragon.

"Spike, have you seen Twilight?" She asked once he had noticed that most of the group was standing there behind him. When he looked confused by her question, she thought to more explain the situation to him. "We may have upset her and we can't find her anywhere, so we were hoping you had seen her anytime very recently. Like in the last half-hour?"

Spike appeared thoughtful for a second, before he returned a sad shake of his head, turning to continue his work dusting the furniture, something they all thought was rather pointless under the circumstances.

"Sorry, girls. I haven't seen her since you all went out for your girls' day."

"Oh, well thanks anyway, Spike. Keep up the good work." Starlight said as she left with the rest of the group, wondering just where to go. She couldn't get far before they heard Spike calling for them to wait.

"Have you checked the basement?" His question surprised them, as Starlight was the true master of directions between them, having lived in the castle for some time now, and the group all looked at her for an answer. "If you've checked everywhere else, then she has to be in there."

"Oh, right! I forgot we even had one of those!" She said as she hurried off in a direction to go to the basement. She turned a corner and then almost immediately returned to the door, just as the other girls were about to follow her. She looked at Spike while chuckling at herself lightly. "Can you remind me where the basement is?"

Once Spike had provided directions for the group to get down to the basement, they had rushed through the door. Nearly tripping down the crystal stairs, they hurried down the bright stairs and into a surprisingly well-lit room that housed seemingly endless amounts of science equipment. They passed by the completely foreign objects and headed directly towards the sound of glass clinking together and mumbling. They weren't surprised to see Twilight standing at a table with a clipboard taking notes on the experiment she was working on.

No, what did surprise them was that they saw several rings on the table, seven to be exact, and each one was floating and glowing a different color. Each ring held a gemstone on it, very similar to the Elements, and glowed a color respectful to the gem on it.

"Twilight!" Starlight called out, walking into the opening that had been cleared between several of the tables and the working area the named princess was working in. "We've been looking all over for you!"

Twilight magically placed the clipboard onto the table, slowly turning to face her friends, eyes lingering on each in turn. TO them, it felt like she was scanning their very souls for something. As she scanned each one in a linear order starting from one side and slowly moving to the other, the group sat in highly uncomfortable silence. Eventually, as she looked at the last friend, her eyes rested back on Starlight, who was standing at the head of the group.

"I think I made a breakthrough." When she spoke those words, the group just fell into total and utter confusion, unsure of how to respond to the statement. Rainbow Dash and Rarity just stared at her like she had gone insane, while Starlight, Applejack, and Fluttershy exchange glances and shrugs. Pinkie did the only logical thing a pony like Pinkie could do, and walked right up to the rings, examined them for a moment then nodded. She cocked her head to one side, rubbed a hoof under her chin, then cocked her head to the other side. She stared intently at the seven rings for a long moment in silence, then hummed happily.

"I see what you mean!" She nodded in agreement with Twilight.

Starlight opened her mouth to reply, but Fluttershy put a hoof to her lips, shaking her head in the expression that spoke louder than words: 'It is Pinkie. Do Not Question it.' So the unicorn just shrugged and turned to her concerning friend, who was now conversing with Pinkie Pie about something to do with stars and trees and shiny things. She shook her head in exasperation, thinking all the while: _Oh Pinkie, when will you ever make sense?_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"So, let me get this straight. Yah just magically created a bunch of rings, and had 'em hiding in yah basement while yah did experiments on 'em?" Applejack was understandably perplexed by the continuously odd behavior that Twilight displayed when performing acts of science or magic. This time: it was Twilight's obsession with the rings she had crafted and her unyielding desire to study their magical properties, as she was gifted the metal from her brother, Shining Armor. As she relayed to them, Shining Armor told her that whatever she made with them would have strange effects that helped the pony who touched them, and she was trying to discern just what effects lay in waiting, without coming into contact with them.

For if Shining Armor said they were safe, then it was probably true, as he had so obviously never been wrong before.

Of course, this conversation they were now all sharing was taking place in the main room once again, it had become the commonplace the group met for events recently. The events that had occurred just the day before, the girls were eager to find out just what was causing Twilight to be so on edge lately. This was their best opportunity, and they had called an informal meeting together so they could get to the heart of the matter.

"That is correct, and I have made an astonishing amount of progress is discovering just what magical properties the rings will have. Through some incredible experimentation, I have uncovered the exact metals that are found in the rings, as well as a few of the potential benefits the rings give." Twilight nodded happily, though the tension hung in the air during the ice-breaker conversation that a few of the girls were trying to bring forth. A few of them shared looks between themselves, knowing they were in for a rough discussion.

"Twilight, darling. Don't you think these rings should be kept somewhere else, like in Canterlot? Or maybe in some secure facility that handles these sorts of things, that way you could potentially spend some quality time with your friends?" Rarity asked in the best subtle tone she could muster, which under the circumstances was poor at best.

"Huh?" Twilight looked at the fashionista unicorn, oblivious to the hinted meaning, just taking the words as a jab against her ability to store artifacts. "Of course not! I am perfectly capable of holding onto and studying these rings, and if Princess Celestia thinks that I am capable, then who are we to question her? Besides, Shining Armor said that he wanted me to study the metals, and if he believes that they aren't dangerous, then I am going to trust my brother and help him."

"Twilight, we never meant that, we were just worried about you." Starlight intervened before anything else could escalate any further, Twilight's recent attitude being cause for concern. "All this irritation, we just wanted to know why the sudden change."

Twilight pause for a moment, considering how to form a response, before she slumped into her seat, utterly stumped on a response. Had she really been that bad? Was her behavior so bad that she was concerning her friends this much? She looked down at the floor while she considered her actions over the past day, how she had roughly handled Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Guilt began to fill her, and she guessed she would have to do some self-evaluation to find out why she was so mean to her friends lately.

But before she could offer them any kind of apology, Rainbow Dash decided to speak up, though the usual arrogance and confidence in her voice was gone. In its place was something Twilight could only begin to recognize as regret, or something close to it. "We know that you are inherently an egghead, and that you like to spend a bunch of time inside, and we have come to expect it from you. But this is something we haven't seen before, and I get the feeling that I may have something to do with the edginess."

"Oh, Rainbow Dash. Don't blame yourself for this." Twilight spoke calmly, and with her voice tinged with her own regret, she showed sorrowful eyes to the rest of the group. "Truth is; I have no idea what is causing me to be so short-tempered recently. It might be that I am just stressed and need some time to relax, so here's what I am going to do. Spike!"

Said dragon came rushing into the main room, saluting to his mistress while awaiting his next task.

"Spike, I need you to clear my schedule for today and tomorrow, as the girls and I are going to take some time to ourselves. I already have an idea for something we can do together girls." Twilight said as the group watched in wonder as their Princess' appearance change right before their eyes, going from down and sad to happy and excited. "Girls, first thing on the forming list: who wants to go to the spa?"

The group all shared a collective excited nod at the prospect of not only having their friend back, but taking a day to rest and relax, and what better way to rest and relax than with a spa trip? Rarity clapped her hooves together happily, as she was the one among the group most likely to take full advantage of a trip to her favorite building in all of Equestria.

While Spike hurried off to some random part of the castle to do his duty, the girls began to fan out towards the foyer, intending to leave the castle, and the tension within, behind. One thing was bugging the back of Starlight's mind, so the purple unicorn slowly worked her way to the princess. While the rest of the group talked about the soon-to-be-reality spa trip, Starlight leaned in close to Twilight, whispering loud enough for the latter to hear her amid the multitude of voices around them.

"So what has really been bothering you, because I know you well enough to know that this isn't something that just pops up one day. There is more to this change than you are letting the rest of us know about, and I have to know." She spoke calmly, though the anxiety was building in her. She had grown fond of Twilight, and to see a good friend in this sort of state, it wasn't reassuring.

"Really, Starlight, I don't know. I wish I did, so I could solve the problem sooner rather than later, but I just don't know right now." Twilight replied, though Starlight remained undeterred.

"Well, then please let me know if you discover anything, because you should know that we all want to help you. We are friends, and as your friend, I only want you to be happy." Starlight bumped her shoulder, before flashing a smile and raising her voice so the others could hear her. "And besides, with a princess offering us a trip to the spa, how could we possibly deny such a wonderful request to spend time with friends."

The others voiced their agreement loudly and obnoxiously.

And thus, the girls took a very sudden trip to the spa, relishing in a treatment to quality rest that passed most of them by these days. Rarity, as the group expected, had taken the most liberties with a free treatment and appeared very relaxed in her mud bath. On the other side of things, Rainbow Dash and Applejack seemed the least comfortable with the relaxation treatment.

"Ah think this was a nice idea, but ah just can't quite find peace in mah mind." Applejack complained from her tub of mud, to which Rainbow Dash only nodded in agreement while shifting uncomfortably. "This just seems all so strange."

"Yeah, and we haven't even really done anything that we have been trying to do." The pegasus pitched in when the farmer had finished what she had to say, eagerly sitting up, picking up one of the cucumber slices that was covering her eyes. She chomped into the vegetable, munching away while the others except Rarity also removed their vegetable eyepatches. Waving the half-eaten slice like pointer, Rainbow Dash waited until she had the attention of all her friends, then began to wave the slice at Twilight. "We need to talk about what has been going on, Twilight. I know that this whole trip is supposed to be an apology, but I want to know what's been bothering you."

Twilight sighed, figuring that it would have been either Rainbow Dash or Applejack that would see past the spa trip and bring it up. She took a bite out of her own cucumber slice, pausing to think of a way to further the conversation in a way that her friends could help her. But before she could form a proper response, Pinkie picked that moment to offer her own opinion on the matters.

"Ooh, a secret investigation! I love those!" She practically screamed while leaping out of her mud bath, spraying the room in the cooling liquid earth. By that point, she had already eaten both slices, and had then picked the remaining slice off of Twilight's face, munching it down before the princess could react. "Now let's see here, we want to know everything, Twilight. Don't move."

If Twilight even wanted to answer Pinkie's erratic behavior, she didn't have the time, as the pink party pony had already begun her investigation. Her forehooves extending in typical cartoon fashion outside the building, then pulled her after them, and when she suddenly reappeared, she was wearing an investigative outfit, similar to the one Rarity like to where.

Twilight was greatly surprised when Pinkie called upon her magical essence and the lights all died, with a single light illuminating just above them both.

"So, who wants to be my assistant?" Pinkie's high voice called as she turned to the others, though they only appeared as blurs in the shadows. Somehow, Pinkie was able to see Rainbow Dash raising her hoof into the air, and she pointed at the rainbow-maned pegasus. "You! Rainbow Dash, you are now the official Pinkie Pie investigatory assistant. But we must decide, who is going to be the good cop and the bad cop?"

"Oh, well, I can be the bad cop." Rainbow Dash answered with a grin. "After all, we need to know what is bothering our good friend here, and sometimes one must resort to drastic measures to ensure said friend's well-being. And I _am_ good at begin drastic."

"Oh dear." Starlight muttered into her mud bath, though it was clearly heard in the light chuckling that came from the pair of unconventional investigators before them all. Her comment incited giggling from both Rarity and Applejack. All the while Fluttershy seemed to be snoring in the background, whose normally silent voice was all but indistinguishable from the background noise. "This is going to be a disaster."

As if on que, Fluttershy suddenly awoke, mumbling incoherently, which broke the character that Rainbow Dash was trying to set herself up as, and the group burst into laughter.

With the mood lightened considerably, things went a lot smoother for the interrogation of the purple pony princess, as her friends were more supportive in their lines of questioning than they would admit to. Rainbow Dash's attempts at being the 'bad cop' were about as severe as Rarity's impersonation of an investigator, or at least, that was how the two purple ponies in the room saw it. They did have to pry for Twilight to get her to answer her questions, but with Fluttershy's and Starlight's support, they were able to be gentle. This helped their princess to find comfort and be able to think about what was wrong, even through their insistent questioning.

At some point, Rarity mentioned that they probably shouldn't remain soaking in the mud for too much longer, and the girls decided to hit the steam room. What better place to conduct a passive interrogation of a friend than in the welcoming embrace of a warm steam bath?

That was how the group found themselves but minutes later: wrapped in towels and delicate robes while sitting in a circle, enjoying the relaxing steam that embraced them in warmth. The questioning didn't cease however, as Pinkie was determined to get to the bottom of this, despite how Twilight kept insisting that all she needed was to have some time to really process what was going on. Eventually, Rarity was the one to calm the pink pony's behavior, planting a gentle hoof on her side to get her to shut up.

"Darling, please. Our dear Princess Twilight just needs a moment to breath, and then I'm sure we can find some way to help her figure this out." She offered a warm smile in the alicorn's direction.

"Thanks, Rarity." Twilight breathed out a sigh of relief, finally free from her pink friend's antics.

"I happen to know a great way for somepony to be able to relax and take a moment to break from the moment and reflect." The smile turned into a look of wicked contemplation, and the group of girls shared either a look of worry, mostly Twilight and Starlight's part, and exasperation on the rest's part. Rarity pulled Twilight's hoof, taking her out of the steam room, much to the princess' displeasure, leading her away while using her magic to remove both their towels. "And I know _just_ the method that can help you relax, and we can talk all the while."

"Lotus! Aloe!" Rarity called as she walked Twilight through the hallways, leading her towards the masseuse rooms. Both the spa mares walked out from a door, twins with complementing colors flashing brilliantly, smiling in recognition of their most frequent customer. "Can you please get us in those rooms for an hour massage session? Twilight and I are going to need some time to really calm down and have a nice sophisticated conversation whilst we relax."

The spa mares nodded, with one of the pair leading the two customers into the masseuse's rooms, while the other returned to the lobby to deal with others. The one leading the girls took a sedated pace, as if anticipating the arrival of the girls' friends, who appeared soon afterwards.

She led the larger group into the tabled room meant to massage one's troubles out of their bodies, smiling warmly as she indicated for them to get comfortable. Rarity invited Twilight to take the first seat, and once she had done so, took her place next to the purple princess, the rest filing into various seats as they settled into their places to wait for the masseuses. When they had all settled, there was an uncomfortable silence as the group waited, inciting both Rarity and Pinkie to cringe inwardly at it. Though for entirely different reasons. Rarity genuinely wished to help Twilight, and this silence was not going to get any of them anywhere, whereas Pinkie just really hated silence. It made the voices in her head talk really loudly, and she couldn't afford letting her closest friends know what they thought.

Eventually, the very awkward silence was broken by the entrance of the masseuse, by which there was only a pair of them, one being Aloe herself, the other being the surprisingly gentle Bulk Biceps, whose muscles would have been intimidating, if not for his gentle spirit.

"Well, girls, this may take some time." Rarity sighed, knowing full well the spa was usually busy this time of the week, and that attention couldn't be given solely to them. But she chirped up when a thought crossed her mind, and she relayed that thought to the rest of the group. "But that isn't always a bad thing, so just get comfortable girls, this is the best opportunity we could have asked for!"

"I suppose I could spare a little bit more time around here, it's not like it'll hurt my super awesomeness to relax for extra time." Rainbow Dash shrugged, relaxing deeper into her spot, the warm towel bringing her ever closer to sleep. After some time, the group heard the light snoring that emanated from the blue pegasus after her eyes closed, and they all shared a quiet laugh at her ease in napping. Bulk walked over to Twilight, as Aloe went to work on Rarity's back, while the pair of friends lay across the masseuse tables.

Twilight seemed apprehensive about Bulk's hooves on her, but Rarity calmed her with a reassuring look. Twilight took a deep breath, but it was soon exhaled rapidly as the white pegasus began to work the tension out of her shoulder and back. She let out a squeak as the heavy weight that he applied loosened her muscles, but she soon let out a soothed moan while slumping deeper into the table.

Rarity looked equally as pleased by Aloe's work, for the spa pony knew exactly how the seamstress liked to be worked, and used that knowledge to full effect. Eventually, Twilight was as rested and tension-free as she could be, so Bulk allowed her to remove herself from the table, beckoning for the next to take her place. Rarity soon followed her to the seats just outside as a hesitant Applejack and Starlight took their places.

"So, Twilight dear, what is it that is on your mind?"

"Hmm? Oh, well actually, thanks to that, there isn't that much right now." Twilight replied to the inquiry, grinning a bit sheepishly, to which Rarity only smiled.

"Well, I'm glad that this worked out. Massages always help me to clear my mind and make a fresh start to the day, but I know that all the girls are worried for you, and we just wanted to help you. Maybe now you will be able to tell us?" The gentle prodding that Rarity administered was wearing down a bit on Twilight. The princess knew that she meant well, but this constant intrusion was getting old, and she had hoped that this would be able to blow over with the trip here. Guess not.

"Rarity, I appreciate all that you all have done, as it means a lot to me, but some things I just don't know right now. This is one of them. I'm sorry."

"Oh, it isn't that big of a deal, darling. We just want to be able to help you figure this out, and if it means we have to be patient, we'll do just that." Twilight hugged the unicorn in thanks, and they sat in peace, engaging in small talk and passing the time as their relaxed group slowly grew until they were all present. "This has been quite the wonderful engagement, girls. I do hope we can all find time to do this as a group again soon."

The girls all agreed, though they all found themselves heading towards the Boutique, following Rarity as though there was something they had to do there. Rarity didn't mind, as she always had time for her friends, so she just let them all in, which proved more folly than any of the group could have anticipated.

After some idling around in the main room, with Rarity upstairs doing some choir or another, the girls were greeted by a cheery Sweetie Belle. They exchanged greetings, Sweetie Belle offering them refreshments, to which they all declined, before the young filly happily trotted off.

"Why exactly are we here?" Came the highly confused question from an equally confused Rainbow Dash, who firmly believed she had much better things she could have been doing with her time than sitting around in the Boutique. They group all looked between themselves, thinking about their reasons for being here, but none could come up with a valid excuse, except for Twilight, who had a spur of the moment thought.

"So we can spend time together, and that you all wanted to help me, so here we are!" It came out a lot harsher than she had intended it to, though the girls didn't seem to take notice, just smiling at now knowing why they were sitting around Rarity's home for no other apparent reason.

The girls sat in idle conversation until Rarity returned, though she was quite surprised that the whole group remained, even if it was a pleasant surprise. She smiled and invited the group to view her newest additions to her line of work, leading them to the back, where she had clothes hung up on display racks. The group awed and oohed at the beautiful work that Rarity had become famous for. Colorful designs, flowing forms, classy shapes, the whole lot was screaming Rarity, and the group knew it would be an instant hit among the population.

"They sure are pretty, Rarity." Was the usual response that Fluttershy seemed capable of delivering, and while it was heartfelt and genuine, it would always lack the power and enthusiasm most associated with proper support. But the friends knew that this was Fluttershy, and volume was never her strong suit, and that her praise was the truest, as she always was.

"Yes, they are quite extravagant, but I wanted to see how they looked on real ponies. I was wondering if you all wanted to try them on for me, I know that a few of the pieces are exact fits for some of you, and a few of them are designed for pegasi, girls." Rarity looked particularly hopeful that Twilight and the other pegasi in the room, though only Rainbow Dash seemed hesitant to accept the offer, as the others had already agreed. They now all looked at her expectantly which brought her affirmative answer, and the group cheered at her acceptance. Rainbow Dash wearing frilly outfits, such a sight was as rare as the Sonic Rainboom that made her famous.

Each bore several outfits, with Rarity remarking how lovely they each looked in every dress and gown they wore. She especially focused on trying to impress Twilight, offering her the best compliments, always remarking how 'stunning', and 'marvelous' she looked. The princess however, felt like the ingratiated comments were not entirely based in earnest praise, but more intended to win her over. She felt the surge of irritation beginning to grip her, and out of fear of losing herself in it she hastily excused herself.

She made a poor excuse, and took off straight for the changing rooms hoping to find some space so she could gain control over her emotions. The others took this badly though, Rarity in particular felt crushed that Twilight may not have like what she had made, she had put so much effort into the dresses. What the unicorn hadn't told any of her friends was that the dresses in particular she had been offering Twilight to model were in fact designs for the princess herself. She wanted to know just what Twilight liked in her clothes, but she wanted to make them royal-worthy.

So when Twilight didn't immediately voice her opinions on the last of the dresses offered, Rarity felt her desire fade. She had wanted to make Twilight feel empowered by the regal clothing, and instead she had somehow upset her friend.

Starlight was the first to respond to their friend's sudden departure, rushing to the now-locked door and knocking on it to get Twilight's attention. She called to the princess, and when she didn't get a response, she sat down in front of the door, and prepared to wait patiently for her friend to come out. She deeply hoped that Twilight wouldn't decide to make a quick escape and teleport away.

After several minutes of gently tapping on the door, she finally got a response from the princess, who shouted weakly for her to be left alone. Starlight wouldn't give up that easily, though, and she remained steadfast, sitting at the door, constantly asking the princess what was wrong. It took her a lot of coaxing, but at some point, she managed to convince Twilight to crack the door open, but she was not at all prepared for what beheld her eyes. Twilight peered through the slight opening in the door, eyes wide and slightly bloodshot, and what was visible of her mane had started to frizz up. Starlight's breath hitched in her throat, unsure of how to follow up with getting the door open.

But she knew that this wasn't the time to hesitate, so she pushed through her fear, allowing her worry and friendship speak for her.

"Twilight, are you okay?" She spoke slowly, forcing her tone to sound as calm and supportive as she could, hoping it would get through to the princess.

"Huh? Oh yeah, everything is just peachy!" Twilight's voice sounded strained, her voice was getting rough.

"Twilight, may I come in so we can talk?" Starlight was very slowly inching her way towards, the door, hoping to get close enough to calm her down.

"Well, I think that we can talk like this."

"Twilight, enough of this!" Rainbow Dash called from behind the others, flying over them and hovering right in front of the door. "Twilight, we need to talk about these problems, you are becoming a bit of a nutcase, and we have to help you. This is becoming a bigger problem than before, and you can't do this alone."

Twilight looked a bit shocked, but eventually she gave in and let out a long sigh. She opened the door, allowing the group to take in her new appearance, which shocked the group, as she had been fine but minutes before. Her mane looked like she had been shocked, sticking up in spikes of purple, while her tail was dry and strained. Rarity fainted, having seen how lovely Twilight had been to her eyes, and how drastic the transformation was. The rest just gasped.

Sitting in the kitchen of the Boutique, the girls all sat in a circle at the table, Sweetie Belle was passing around snacks. The girls were in the middle of a massive conversation, discussing why Twilight was struggling, and she was being difficult the whole time, but that was something that they were prepared for. They had Applejack and Rainbow Dash leading the charge, asking question after question, bombarding Twilight asking for any and all information that they could find useful. Pinkie Pie sat in her own dark little corner, though none payed her any heed, as she was the notetaker, and not to be disturbed. Otherwise they would have wondered about how she had stopped the lights from reaching her seat.

Rarity had recovered and was now just as concerned as the rest of the girls, knowing full well that this was becoming a bigger problem than they could have imagined.

"When did you start feeling irritated?" Applejack asked in a serious tone, but Twilight could only respond with a weak shake of her head, feeling emotionally drained from the day. She wasn't the only one, but what struck her the hardest was that she had dealt with all these anger attacks in such a short period of time.

"I'm sorry, but I don't really know. I do remember being annoyed about some things, but truth is, is that I just suddenly felt these things."

"So what triggered it this time? We had just gotten done visiting the spa a couple of hours ago, and there is no way something that bad happened to make this happen." Starlight pitched in, her voice being the leading voice of reason and calm during this conversation. She looked at her friend with a worried look.

Twilight looked down again, wishing very badly that this whole situation could have been avoided. This internal struggle that she was dealing with was not ending well, and she didn't even know what was causing the conflict in the first place. She needed answers, but the feeling in her gut was telling her that she wasn't going to be fond of those answers. Still that consuming drive for knowledge, especially when the knowledge she needed was so important to her interactions with her friends.

"I don't really know. . ." She started to mutter, but wasn't able to finish her thought.

"Oh, come one!" Rainbow Dash blurted out, interrupting her. "Don't give us that, Twilight. We hope you know that we trust you, and that we are here for you, so please just tell us what is bothering you."

It almost sounded pleading, something that would have taken the girls back.

Twilight sighed, knowing that this conversation wasn't going to get anywhere until the group got the information that they wanted. That only furthered her desire to know just what was going on even more. But the problem still remained that she didn't even know why she was having these emotional issues, which was detrimental to solving the issue. She lowered her head onto the table, closing her eyes and rubbing a hoof over her head, trying to ease the headache that always comes when she tries to deal with a problem.

After some time of the group talking amongst each other, some trying to help Twilight, others discussing what they could do to help, they fell into silence. Twilight had given up, as her friends couldn't help her, and she didn't like that. Then something clicked in her head, but she suddenly felt like the truth of the predicament was far grimmer than she would have liked. It was then that she understood that not all knowledge was worth learning.

She perked back up, but she tried to look as inconspicuous as possible, even if subtly wasn't exactly her strongest ability. The others caught on nearly immediately, shifting their attention back to solely her.

The sudden attention shifted her way caused her to look between her friends nervously, knowing full well that she was going to have to tell them what she had discovered. She knew it was going to cause a bit of pain, and there was no way she could minimize the damage, but if they persisted, she would be left with no choice. She let out that same defeated sigh that she had begun to make a habit of sounding around her friends. Might as well get this over with, she may be stubborn, but her friends beat her in that competition.

"I think I figured it out girls, but you are not going to like it."

"No worries darling, I'm absolutely sure we can handle any of your troubles." Came Rarity's reply, making Twilight wonder just how much trouble she would be able to offer her friends before the guilt took hold of her.

"Yeah, just tell us already!" Rainbow Dash was practically jittery now.

"Well, if you insist." Twilight tried to bring a smile to her face, but it came as more saddened and weary than anything. "I think it is the issues that I have with each of you, just the little things that I let build up and fester inside. I noticed that whenever you girls did something that I found irritating, I would slowly get more and more upset over it, but I thought they were just smaller emotions. I had never believed that they would get so bad."

"Oh. . ." Was a collective response from the group, not entirely expecting this confession from one of their closest friends. Starlight was the first to recover, as per the usual, and walked up to the princess, offering a hug in friendship, to which Twilight readily returned. She finished the gesture, by getting the rest of the group to recover and follow suit. "If that is the true problem, then I am sure we will be able to solve this, right girls?"

Nods all around when the group had separated.

"Thank you. All of you have my deepest gratitude." Twilight had tears at the edges of her eyes.

It was Rarity who spoke up next, which kind of broke the steadily growing positive atmosphere with her guilt at the situation herself. "So am I wrong to assume that this most recent situation was caused by my persistence somehow?"

"What? No!" Twilight was quick to dispel anything before it started to simmer, she knew all too well what would happen when things got that nasty. "This was all my fault, you didn't have anything to do with it!"

"But you just said that we did things that you found irritating, so how am I not to assume that this recent episode was the effect of my own intervention? We were just having a lovely time and then I had to go and ruin it for us all." Rarity broke down then, tears freely falling onto the carpeted floor, making her mascara run. The entire group rushed around her to comfort her, offering words of encouragement and attempts at returning the moods of them all to a place where negativity was not allowed.

And after some time, they managed to succeed, with Twilight convincing Rarity that it was the princess' fault, and not her own. She used the seasonal spirit to remind the fashionista that they all needed her to make them only the best scarves as the snow truly settled in. It was the mention of her work that won the unicorn over, reminding her that not all things needed drama and embellished attention for a good time, as she had friends here.

After all, Hearth's Warming was closing in far faster than they all thought, and they needed to be in positive mindsets for the holiday of joy.

 _Author's Note: Hope you all enjoy, as this chapter was longer than I was expecting, and as such, I wasn't able to cover everything I wanted to. Expect next chapter to be bustling with holiday cheer, some rough patches with Twilight and the Apple family, and a mysterious letter sent by the youngest princess' favorite ruler of Equestria._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

With Hearth's Warming Eve on the horizon, the small town of Ponyville was in a bit of a rush to get everything ready. Especially the girls, as this was going to be a particularly different experience from what they were used to. With Twilight going freak mode on them whenever they did something to upset her, they acted as if they were walking on ice.

That was what hurt the princess the most, as she trusted her friends, she cherished them, and to have them acting so differently, she really hated it. Sure, they got on her nerves sometimes, but that was part of why she loved them so dearly. And so sat the Princess of Friendship, with her friends as they circled her, each sharing their plans for the holiday coming up. With both Applejack and Pinkie Pie heading out to the family farm to continue a tradition they seemed to have started, the group was going to be considerably smaller.

Of course, Fluttershy had animals to take care of, and she explained that because of them, she was going to be unable to stay for any lengthy period of time. Thus, narrowing down the group from seven to four, until Rarity mentioned that she had some business to attend to regarding Sweetie Belle visiting family in the big city.

With only three, Twilight was nervous about the outcome of their holiday, knowing full well that both Starlight and Rainbow Dash were probably making plans to leave. She was sure she was going to spend the time alone, and it saddened her; she just didn't have anyone else to spend the day with, not like the rest of the group. That thought leaving her mind, she decided to make the most of the time she had with them, before they all left for the holidays, though she was sure that Fluttershy would be able to help keep her company.

What better way to enjoy the time she had left before the holidays than a wonderful gathering in her home, where they could all receive their gifts from her before they departed. That was the reason they all sat in the castle, within the main room that had become the common meeting place.

Once the chattering had subsided, Twilight cleared her throat and stood up, catching the attention of the girls before her. She smiled at them, knowing this was something that could really piece together their dwindling relationships.

"Girls, I called you all here because tomorrow, many of you will be gone for the holiday, and with you all gone, it would be particularly difficult for me to give you all your gifts." She refrained from smirking when Rainbow Dash's head swiveled towards the box she held in a magical grasp behind her. Of course their athletic pegasus would be focused solely on the presents, it was just her nature. "So, while we are all here, sharing each other's company, I decided now would be the best time for me to give you all what I had been working on. So, without any further ado, here are the gifts I have been working on for each of you personally."

The box floated from its position behind her and into the view of the encircling girls, who leaned in closer in gleaning interest as the box stopped in the center between them all. Slowly, as if teasing them, the ribbon holding the lid untied itself, and the freed cover lifted away. The girls let out a collective gasp of pure awe and joy, with Pinkie doing a typical Pinkie squeal in happiness.

"I had these personally tailored for each of your cutie marks and personalities, I do hope you like them." Twilight explained as she levitated the six separate necklaces out of the box, each bearing a gemstone the color of the cutie marks they were shaped after. "Rarity, as I hurt your feelings most recently, I hope you accept this apology."

She placed the necklace over the white unicorn's head, the sparkling blue diamond-shaped sapphire glistened beautifully in the warm firelight. The girls each oohed and awed at the pendant, as it was masterfully shaped and fit perfectly with the apparel the fashionista insisted on wearing often. The next necklace to float to its owner had a gentle yellow and pink butterfly shape to it. Fluttershy eeped lightly, but smiled gratefully when Twilight gently placed the pendant around her neck.

"Fluttershy, I hope we can find ways to keep our friendship as strong as ever."

"Applejack, may your honesty inspire us all to further trust each other with our struggles." Twilight said as the red apple-shaped ruby and gold necklace wrapped itself around the farmer's neck. The princess ignored the muttering from Rainbow Dash complaining about the humor in that statement, instead choosing to be above a response and moved on to the next recipient of her craftsmareship. Pinkie Pie bounced with giddy excitement as her blue balloon necklace wove its way through her mane. "Pinkie Pie, I hope your enthusiasm for friendship will keep us all together in trying times."

Starlight received hers next, then the final recipient fell to be Rainbow Dash, who accepted her multi-colored lightning bolt pendant with heightened brashness, puffing her chest to flash the necklace for all to see.

Aside from the obscenity of Pinkie's physics-breaking ability to grab her party cannon from anywhere the celebration the girls partook in was filled with joy and gratitude. The only negativity was found within the deepest reaches of Twilight's mind, as she was unsure just how long this happiness would last. She tried her very best to shove that darkness away though, as this was why she did this whole fiasco; to make her friends happy, and be happy in return.

Hearth's Warming Eve came and went, much to the entire group's dismay, as the short time they had before they departed for some time passed entirely too quickly. Twilight was not happy that most of her predictions came true, as all of her friends except Fluttershy left for the holiday to be with other friends or family. And soon it was just her, Spike, and Owlowiscious to occupy the massive castle, though Fluttershy had promised to visit during the actual Hearth's Warming, and Starlight had said she would return the day after.

With both of her assistants doing their daily chores and with little else to do, Twilight decided she might as well find something productive to do for the remainder of the day. She was happy that the holiday was here, but it didn't feel the same without her friends, to which she felt she was slightly responsible for them all leaving her. She tried her best, though, and that is all that matters, right?

Hearth's Warming Eve, for Twilight at least, was spent in isolation studying magic, busying herself with anything that caught her attention. She knew that she would have to deal with this for just that day, and then she could spend some quality time with Fluttershy when she came over. And though the night was quiet, Twilight was anxious for the empty day she would have, because even Fluttershy was incapable of filling the purple princess' schedule during these holiday months. Even her duties as a princess slowed to a grinding halt when the snow began to fall. The season of joy seeming to erase any friendship problems that could exist in Equestria.

And when the time came for Fluttershy to make her appearance, early in the winter-clad morning, she wasn't there. Twilight figured it would take her some time to calm her animals, but her delayed arrival was starting to worry her. An hour after the pegasus was supposed to appear at the castle, Twilight was beginning to pace around the foyer of her gemstone castle, wearing a small groove in the floor as she waited for her last remaining friend present in Ponyville.

"Where is she? Could she have upset one of her animals, and caused a big problem with them? Could she have gotten hurt on the way here, and is out there in pain? Or maybe she could have just forgotten about me, could she have just decided that she didn't want to be friends with me anymore, and won't want to speak to me after all I've done?" The most unbecoming side of Twilight: the paranoid mess worried over every impossible probability, freaking out over the tiniest of details. Conjuring scenarios in her thoughts to justify her paranoia.

"Twilight, relax." The voice of reason and calm at the moment, Spike handed his mistress a paper bag for her to breath into, which she readily obliged with. He waited until she had gotten some sense of control over herself before continuing; "She is probably just caught up with her animals, you know how she is. She couldn't leave them alone unless everything is perfect, like you and the library."

Twilight smiled at Spike, glad that he was able to remain cool-headed under the pressure, pressure that only she seemed to be weighted by. Still, he was able to calm her down, and cheer her up, so she supposed it was best to just let him work whatever sensibilities he had.

"Do you think I should go check on her, though? Just to see if she needs any help, and maybe I just need to get out of the castle for a little bit. Get some fresh air." Spike simply nodded in agreement, happy to be of assistance. "Okay then. Well, Spike, I am off to go check on Fluttershy and see if she needs my help. Don't spend the entire time reading your books, and make sure the castle remains in one piece!"

Spike waved off her ridiculous concerns, as he was the master of keeping places tidy, and with plans of finishing his latest comic book already brewing in his head, he didn't notice her leave.

Twilight flew outside of town, heading towards the Everfree, as Fluttershy had for whatever reason chosen that location to have her cottage. Not that it was that big of a concern, as she knew all the animals, and they all looked after her, but it did simply seem strange for a pony to live so close to the dark woods.

Knocking on the front door, she heard a clutter and the sound of pots dropping to the floor. After a brief moment of inward clashing, the door finally swung open, revealing an exhausted-looking Fluttershy, whose baggy eyes and frazzled mane suggested she had her hooves very much full.

"OH! Twilight, I am so sorry! Is it already that time? My goodness, but I still have so much to get done, and the animals are all just behaving so strangely." Fluttershy looked back inside as the growls of some beast or another called for her attention. "Twilight, please forgive me, but I am afraid I simply cannot spend any time at the castle right now, the animals are not taking to the snow like they normally do."

"Oh, it's okay Fluttershy, that's actually why I am here. I was wondering if you needed any help, we could spend some time together helping your animals."

Fluttershy looked uncertain for a moment, but her animals chose for her, and she nodded quickly before dashing back inside the cottage, leaving Twilight still standing at the open door, warm air leaking outside. Twilight paused, then decided it would be best to help out as soon as possible, and walked in, closing the door behind her. What her eyes beheld caused her to gasp, the cottage was in total chaos.

Fluttershy was hopelessly floating about, trying to help each individual animal, seeing to their needs one at a time, and doing them the best and fastest she could. Unfortunately for her, whenever she finished one task, ten more demanded her attention while another three were developing. It wasn't long before even Twilight was lost among the animals' constant need for attention.

After what felt like hours, Twilight had to admit defeat, taking shelter near the kitchen, where fewer animals were basking. It amazed her how Fluttershy was even still standing, as this was extremely trying work, in a short burst of time, the princess was utterly exhausted.

However, sitting there watching the animals constantly berate her meek friend, she felt that familiar build of tension knowing that this was not how the animals should act, nor how they used to act. She had to put a stop to it, now. She walked to the living room where her friend bustled away, and with clear purpose cast a temporal spell, freezing all the animals in place, just as she had done so long ago with Fluttershy and the Hooffields and McColts.

"Enough!" She shouted once the spell had taken effect, leaving her the only place attention fell. "This is ridiculous, Fluttershy, what happened?"

"I don't know, the animals are just so unhappy with the weather, and I can't keep up with them."

"Well, that stops now, all of you, listen up! Fluttershy has been working very hard to keep you all happy, but you all are just too needy for her right now. Can't you see that you are making her exhausted?" The animals all shared guilty looks, though some like Angel were adamant in their needs and actions. "Today is supposed to be a happy day, a day where everypony can enjoy each other's company, and relish the fact that we are all here as a big family. And look at you all, taking advantage of this wonderful mare. Shameful."

"Oh, Twilight. You didn't have to say that. I'm sure they felt bad enough about it before, but are you sure all that was necessary?"

"Fluttershy, I was just looking out for you, since even after all this time you still seem incapable of doing so yourself. Look, I want you to do what you enjoy, but you shouldn't just allow these animals to dictate over you like this. Remember everything we have gone through, and how you have learned to stand up for yourself?" Fluttershy nodded. "This is the time to do so, and all you have to do is remember whose house this is, whose home this is, and remind these animals that it is because of your kindness that they even have a place to stay."

Fluttershy let out a weak sound, similar to that of a cross between a sigh and a contemplative hum. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that this new idea Twilight suggested just may be what she had to do, but she didn't like the idea of not being able to provide every comfort for her little critters. Nonetheless, the meek pegasus powered through, kindly, yet following the strange sternness that she uses when righting wrongs with animals, Fluttershy explained what she was going to do.

Twilight guided her along, prompting her to be assertive when she had to, and though it was frustrating for the princess to have to re-lecture her friend in the ways of not being a pushover, she enjoyed seeing the animals cower before her. That was the moment she realized just how far she had gone, and how much pent up frustration she had, so she politely excused herself from the cottage, promising Fluttershy they could continue their plans later in the day.

Once Twilight was out of earshot of the cottage, she instantly teleported back to her castle, swiping at her head as she tried to figure out just what was going on with her. Why was she becoming so abrasive and short-tempered with even her closest friends? What was going on? Sure, some things got annoying, but this was clearly beyond simply annoyed, this was even well beyond angry. She was getting dangerously close to livid over the smallest things. And yet, she had no idea just what was causing her to be so fiery lately, not a single clue as to what was prompting the emotions.

After Twilight had left, Fluttershy let out a deeply dissatisfied sigh, many of her animals sharing the sentiment. She hadn't thought her friend would turn that bad on a day like this; she thought it was a good day to be happy, even if her animals were acting a little strange. She tried to return to taking care of her animals, many of whom were now restless because of Twilight's behavior, and Fluttershy knew that she was in for a busy day.

Back at the castle, Twilight paced the foyer in deep concentrated worry, marking her path with a slight groove in the floor. Much to Spike's and Owlowiscious' discontent, she remained in her ways, pacing the halls through the day and well into that night. Eventually, she succumbed to the call of sleep, heading off to her bedchambers to rest her weary head. Yet when she woke, her skull ached just as much as it had the night before, and she felt no better about her conundrum.

Starlight arrived at the exact same time as Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and the trio went straight to the castle to check up on their friend. What they saw was not what they were expecting, though they each knew it was bound to happen, as Twilight was being unnaturally snappy. What beheld their eyes was a purple princess who was obviously having a bad day, and was about ready to collapse in exhaustion.

"Bad day?" Applejack asked as the trio walked through the entrance to the kitchen, to which Twilight only nodded, sipping her afternoon tea. "What happened this time?"

"Oh, Applejack, if only you hadn't asked; well it was terribly. I got upset at Fluttershy."

Starlight had expected as much, though, and she had come prepared. She walked over to where Twilight was sitting, and used her magic to pull an item out of her saddlebags. Twilight glanced curiously at her, wondering just what it was that the unicorn was doing, and within a magic aura came a large book. Twilight stared at it, wondering just what it was, then Starlight dropped it on the table in front of her. "You can read this after we talk about what happened, okay?"

Twilight looked over the cover, then laughed at what the book was; it was the journal the girls had written to aid those that needed friendship help. They had it published, and it had a very interesting reception from the public, but what really made the moment was that they had written it so long ago to help others, and now she was offered it to help herself.

"Wow, Starlight. Didn't think these would still be around, that was so long ago." She lifted the book up, setting it to one side while she prepared to explain what had happened. "Well, I guess it would be best if I told you, but it isn't all that pretty."

And after she had explained the incident, Applejack and Pinkie excused themselves to go do their responsibilities, while Starlight volunteered to help their friend. When the earth ponies had left, Starlight turned to the princess before her, frowning slightly at the turn of events. "While I am happy that you tried to make the best out of what happened, I still don't quite understand why you would do this. The worst thing is that Fluttershy probably blames herself for all of this, and you know she doesn't deal with these things that well."

"I know, but I just couldn't bring myself to see her after that, not so soon at least. I want to apologize but I just don't want to deal with these emotions, I hate dealing with emotions."

"I'm with you there, but this has to be dealt with, because holding onto this isn't going to get you anywhere, trust me." Starlight thought back to the time she bottled her anger towards Trixie. Yeah, that didn't end well. "So this is what we are going to do, we are going to go to Fluttershy, and you are going to apologize."

"You know, sometimes you can be a little demanding, Starlight." Twilight muttered as she stopped to look at her friend. She smiled, knowing that this was the right path to choose, even if she didn't feel ready. "But thanks anyways."

"Anytime. Now let's get you over to Fluttershy's house, I'm sure she is just worried sick that she may have upset you, because we both know that is exactly what she would do." Starlight said as she led Twilight out of the building, and down the path through town, heading towards the meek pegasus' cottage outside of Ponyville. "While we head down there, think about what you are going to say."

Wait, you mean to tell me you don't already have a plan set in place to help me?" Twilight paused mid-step to look incredulously at her friend, who returned the gaze, though Starlight had more confusion than Twilight, unsure how to respond.

"Uh, yeah. It is your responsibility to make it up to her."

"Yeah, but I was kind of hoping you would offer something for me to work with here. I can't just walk up there totally unprepared, you know that isn't how I work!" Twilight was panicking, twirling in place while she worried over what she could say. "Ohmygosh, what am I going to do?!"

"Twilight, calm down, okay? Just take a moment to breath, it'll all be fine. Just breath, calm down, and get yourself together." Starlight placed a hoof on the princess' side, which did little to calm said princess down.

"Calm down?! I am calm!" Twilight screeched, before stomping her hoof and resisting all attempts to move forward.

"Twilight, you're starting to act like a little filly." Starlight let out, knowing this was going to be an interesting trip. She let out a huff, then turned to Twilight, but what caught her attention first was the distance they had covered already. "Twilight, we're like ten steps from the castle; would you mind acting like an adult for maybe a few hours? Long enough for us to go and apologize to Fluttershy, then you can continue this little fit of yours?"

"'Little fit?' Starlight, do you have any idea who you are talking to?"

"Yes, an upset friend, who is getting heated over pointless issues that are starting to become a burden on her friends."

"Starlight, I am the Princess of Friendship, and whenever there is a problem between friends, I know what is best- "

"Except right now."

"-and what we need to do is go back into the castle and formulate a proper plan to apologize to Fluttershy. So that is what we are going to do." Twilight made a decisive nod, and began to turn around to take the massive pilgrimage back to the front door of the caste. She had taken exactly half a step before Starlight's aura wrapped itself around her, and pulled her back to the unicorn. "Starlight, please put me down."

"No. Twilight, this is getting to become a serious problem, we may have to set up an intervention." Twilight just scoffed, and refused to meet her friend's gaze, which eventually prompted Starlight to drop the stubborn princess back onto the ground. "Fine, be like that, I'm going to head over to Fluttershy's and see how she is doing, since that is what a _good friend_ does. Maybe you'll get your head back and do the same. Talk to you later, Princess Twilight."

Twilight just waited in silence until Starlight was out of view, then she sighed, knowing full well this was another moment she had screwed up. She really wished this problem of hers would just go away, but the logical part of her brain reminded her that problems like these didn't just "go away."

Feeling like the castle was going to be very tense the next day or so, Twilight prepared to head off back into her room to formulate a proper apology to Fluttershy. She needed to get as much done as she could, because the apology for Fluttershy now had to followed up by an apology to Starlight. Oh how her life was spiraling out of control.

And after an awkward conversation with Fluttershy the next day, Twilight planned on speaking with Starlight who had been absent from breakfast, something the former wasn't entirely sure they were happy about. It was nice to finally eat in peace, after all the stress lately. But the knowledge that the two had gotten into an argument so quickly, it was bugging the princess, and she knew the sooner she solved this issue, the better. The rifts between her and her friends were not helping, which was most likely a direct result of these continuous problems. Twilight walked through the barren, desolate halls of her castle, now only cluttered here and there with items from her past. The only noise to be heard in the castle was the clanging of her hoofsteps as she patrolled the empty crystal.

Outside, she knew that some of her friends were having a great time, but she knew that the best thing for her was to remain indoors and study why she was behaving so oddly.

After an hour of mindlessly walking, the princess found herself in the basement, looking at the pedestal that had housed the rings earlier. Now it stood, empty and unused, the slightest hint of dust beginning to settle on the table. Before she could decide whether she was going to remain there or leave, hoofsteps from atop the stairs caught her attention. When she turned to greet the newcomer, she was relieved to see Starlight pacing down the steps, eyes fixated on her own.

The two shared a moment of silence before Twilight ran forward and embraced her friend in a hug, one which Starlight happily returned. "Oh, Starlight. I am so truly sorry about our argument yesterday."

"Same."

When the two parted, they were mirroring each other: wide smiles expressing their happiness that they were able to make up for past issues. Twilight was more relieved between the two of them, having the guilt slide right off of her meant that she no longer had to worry about multiple problems anymore, and she could figure out just what was causing the irrational spurts of anger within her. But that could wait for another time, as she was now chatting away with Starlight, their friendship restored.

Just like that, with their issues resolved, Twilight felt more free than she had in quite a long time, and she was hoping this time, it would be permanent. She doubted it, but it was always good for one to hope. And as the snowy winter season drew longer and longer, she felt the veil of happiness become thicker, lighter, and more fluffy than she had ever felt it before.

Things were finally looking up, and thus, when winter finally had to come to an end, she was more than cheery to help her friends with the age-old tradition of wrapping up winter. And sending it on its way.

Starlight led the charge, however, as the occupants of the castle rushed through the large doors to welcome the end of a lush snow paradise, and welcome the beginning of spring. Her voice rang out over the bustling town as the two purple mares steadily made their way into Ponyville.

"Its winter wrap up! Winter wrap up! Let's finish our holiday cheer! Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up!"

Rainbow Dash soared down from a cloud, her own voice initiating the song that put the motions of the town into gear. Behind her flew an entire squad of pegasi ready to take the clouds away. "Three months of winter coolness, and awesome holidays!'

Bouncing from Sugarcube corner, leading her own marching squad of ponies, sprang a very excited Pinkie Pie. Her high voice calling to the heavens above, proclaiming the traditional words of Pinkie Nation: "We've kept out hoovsies warm at home, time off from work and play."

Leading a second jumble of earth ponies through the snow-veiled fields, Applejack's country accent filled the brisk air with its melodious tunes: "But the food we've stored is runnin' out, and we can't grow in this cold."

Rarity was fretting about in the snow, enjoying its last bit of fresh snowiness before it would be gone. When her country friend had finished, she joined in, her voice rising as if she'd been taught to be in the choir: "And even though I love my boots, this fashion's getting old."

Leaving the guidance of her ex-mentor behind, Starlight wandered into the center of the massing ponies, unsure how she can help this season, her worried face was conflicting with the happiness she felt in her heart. She felt so alive! "The time has come to welcome spring, and all things warm and green! But it's also time to say goodbye. It's winter we must clean. How can I help? I'm new you see. What does everypony do? How do I fit in without magic? I haven't got a clue!"

Twilight flew in from the crowd, wrapping a wing around her friend, assuring her that she had been in that place before. She joined in with the choir of singing ponies now surrounding them. "Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up! Let's finish our holiday cheer! Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up!"

As the pair followed the groups into the fields, they got sucked towards the joyous singing of Applejack, who was working away with her team members, plowing snow away. "'Cause tomorrow spring-"

As part of Ponyville tradition, dating back hundreds and hundreds of weeks, Rainbow Dash always finished the sentence for her country friend: " -is here!"

Twilight and Starlight rejoined with the main body of vocalists, adding their own, if slightly out of tune, voices into the fray. "'Cause tomorrow spring is here!"

Soaring high above the rest of the townsponies, Rainbow Dash led a flock of birds, Fluttershy trailing off in the distance with her own swarming number of feathered terrorists. "Bringing home the southern birds, a pegasus' job begins. And clearing skies to let the sunshine in. We move the clouds and we melt the white snow."

From the depths of the abyss, all that sparked within Starlight's mind was; _where was Pinkie's voice coming from?_ Pinkie's squeals of a voice matched Rainbow Dash's tempo, adding her song to the mix. "When the sun comes up, its warmth and beauty will glow!"

Starlight found herself being tugged along by an eager Twilight, their voices resuming with the rest, once again. All the while Rarity led her bunch of unicorn followers to spread bales of hay and clear the snow from the tables and seats around town. "Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up! Let's finish out holiday cheer. Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up! 'Cause tomorrow spring is here! Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up! 'Cause tomorrow spring is here, 'cause tomorrow spring is here!"

Starlight was only mildly confused about the missing Fluttershy, as Rarity was taking the mic and singing about the waking animals. Her disbelief was short lived however, as she saw Fluttershy off working with them elsewhere. Still, she admired Rarity's voice. "Little critters hibernate under the snow and ice."

Fluttershy was somewhat surprisingly singing as loudly as the rest, something Starlight made sure to take note of. "We wake up all their sleepy heads. So quietly and nice."

Rarity, stealing the mic once again: "We help them gather up their food, fix their homes below."

While Fluttershy also fought for center stage: "We welcome back the southern birds."

Then the two decided that they would get more work done by sharing. Yay! Friendship! "So their families can grow!"

Starlight decide it was best not to ask questions, and just keep on singing. All the singing! "Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up! Let's finish our holiday cheer! Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up! 'Cause tomorrow spring is here! Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up! 'Cause tomorrow spring is here, 'cause tomorrow spring is here!"

Starlight lost all surprise now, because Rarity was suddenly the supporting vocals behind the choir, who'd have thunk?

Applejack taking the reins once more: "No easy task to clear the ground. Plant out tiny seeds with proper care and sunshine. Everyone it feeds, apples, carrots, celery stalks. Colorful flowers too. We must work so very hard, it's just so much to do!"

( _And now two of the other earth ponies were backing vocals, wonderful)._ Starlight had similar thoughts on the matter.

Choir: this time joined by tiny hopping foals. "Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up! Let's finish out holiday cheer! Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up! 'Cause tomorrow spring is here! Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up!"

And Pinkie back with her _beautiful_ backing voice: "'Cause tomorrow spring is here!"

Choir filled with leaping foals: "'Cause tomorrow spring is here!"

Starlight felt herself drawn by the omnipotent powers of vocalized death, and she walked forwards with the encouraging bump from Twilight. She walked forward, the light of the world vanishing from sight as she wondered where she belonged. "Now that I know what they all do, I have to find my place and help with all of my heart. Tough task ahead I face, how will I do without my magic? Help the earth pony way? I wanna belong so I must: do my best today, do my best today!"

Choir filled with flying pegasi, dancing ponies, and a helpful Twilight ready to assist Starlight in her new journey that is life: "Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up! Let's finish out holiday cheer! Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up! 'Cause tomorrow spring is here! Winter wrap up! Winter wrap up!"

And Starlight with the big finish: "'Cause tomorrow spring is here! 'Cause tomorrow spring is here! 'Cause tomorrow spring is here!"

And what a lovely way to finish winter, with a lot of singing and dancing and finding one's place!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Twilight, Celestia sent you a message!" Spike called from the top of the stairs leading down into the basement, where the named princess resided at the moment. After a crashing sound flew up the stairs, a burst of purple magic appeared just before the dragon, who had to shield his eyes from the flash of light. Twilight teleported in front of her number one assistant, taking the letter he held in his claws with her magic and tearing it open.

In less than a second, her eyes skimming unbelievably fast, she had read the entire two-page letter, absorbing every detail she needed, which to her meant the entire letter. Her heart flared with excitement, as this was a new adventure that she could take her friends on, and the potential was irresistible.

"Well, what did it say?" Spike asked from just in front of her, though in her haste she had completely forgotten about him. She smiled at him, then proceeded to grab him in her magic and pulled him with her as she rushed through the halls of the castle away from her studies in the basement.

"Sorry, Spike. This is so huge, though!" She answered as she pulled the dragon into the main lounging area, a popular choice among her and her friends as of late. "Starlight! I have the best news ever!"

"Well, what is it? Don't keep me in suspense." Starlight answered from behind the book she was reading as Twilight had entered the room. Upon hearing potentially interesting news, she carefully put the book down, leaving a marker on the page she was on. She hopped off the couch, leaving the book where it lay so she could divert her attention fully on her friend, especially happy that their relationship had returned to normal.

"I just received a letter from Princess Celestia, and she informed me that there is an ancient storage facility near the old Castle of the Two Sisters that has some ancient and powerful artifacts and she asked me if I would like to get all my friends to help me out and search through it!" Twilight paused to inhale deeply and her mouth exploded in words before Starlight could form a proper response to the verbal assault. "So I was wondering if you have anything planned soon, because finding and uncovering an ancient magical artifact storage building is like, a dream come true! Ooh, I can't wait to get the rest of the girls for this!"

"Uh, Twilight? I know you are excited, but shouldn't we ask the others if they have the time to go on an adventure?" Starlight offered a smile, because she was also excited about exploring some old, potentially fun structures from the distant past. History nerd in her had officially kicked in, and while it was never going to be as bad as Twilight's, she was best friends with Sunburst for a reason. And while we do that, can I see that letter Princess Celestia sent, I'd like to read it for myself."

Twilight happily offered the written note as she pulled Starlight out of the castle, heading towards the nearest of her friends, which was probably Pinkie in Sugarcube Corner. As the pair hastily made their way down the streets, Starlight read the letter out loud, as if that was going to make the royal-sealed paper more believable.

" _Dear Princess Twilight, after recent events involving the invasion of Equestria, it has been brought to my attention from my faithful sister that there are magical artifacts that may prove useful in future defensive situations. I would kindly ask of you to retrieve these artifacts from their resting place, a magic bunker storage facility not far from the ancient Castle. These artifacts are not vital to our prosperity, but the sooner we have them, the sooner we can be that much more protected._

" _I leave this task to you, as the much more experienced explorer and adventurer of the royal Princesses of Equestria. May you find a space in your schedule that would allow such an endeavor, and I hope that any searches you conduct have promising results._

" _Sincerely, your good friend, Princess Celestia."_

"Isn't it amazing? The chance to explore an ancient place of magic, and to retrieve artifacts that could help protect us in the future, oh it's just so exciting!" Twilight bounced up and down as she opened the door to the bakery they had finally reached. She went in first, hoping to catch Pinkie as soon as possible, and see if she was able to go along on their adventure.

Starlight followed at a much more sedated pace, and while she was positively stoked to finally have a proper adventure with the girls, this was sounding an awful lot like s task Celestia just didn't want to do. She was still very excited about doing it, but she had hoped the Princess of the Sun would have a more solid reason behind sending another princess into the Everfree forest. Just a young princess sent on a dangerous mission to gather powerful artifacts, and the only reason was that she was too lazy to do it herself?

This was why Starlight had decided in the first place that she knew what was best for other ponies, because sometimes they were just plain stupid.

Starlight decided then that that was a good moment to actually enter the bakery, as she was just standing at the door, staring into space like she was contemplating the very questions of life. So she put on her friendliest smile, entered the building, and immediately wished she had opted to remain outside, as Pinkie was doing the Pinkie thing, again.

Pinkie things at this point consisted of her bouncing around, shouting nonsense about this or that, usually with an idle Gummy holding onto her tail for dear life. At the moment, however, she was bouncing around shouting nonsense about the amazingness of parties held in ancient Equestria. Twilight was waiting patiently at the counter, and both purple mares knew that Pinkie would get to them when she got to them.

Starlight gave Twilight the letter, then took a seat on one of the stools before the counter, watching cautiously as a bouncing Pinkie flew over her head.

"Hey Starlight! Hi Twilight! I'll be just a moment, got some delicious cakes for a customer that just HAVE to be delivered like right now!" She spoke in Pinkie fashion, the words flowing out in rapid succession, all the while she was trotting in place, in the air, with a stack of boxes floating just out of her grip. In other words: Pinkie doing the Pinkie-law-defying stuff only Pinkie could do. "Gotta go! Talk to you both in just a moment!"

And just like that, she was gone, vanishing in a cloud of vapor, leaving a perfect impression of her in the air, cake boxes and all. Starlight let out a half-hearted chuckle, one that Twilight shared, knowing Pinkie was only describable as Pinkie, and this was her behavior.

Mr. Cake walked over to them, asked them if they wanted anything, and when they declined, he went to tend to the kitchen, leaving the pair to talk in peace.

"I don't suppose we should try to visit Applejack, she is going to be busy with the farm now that spring is here." Starlight commented as they waited, leaning onto the counter so she could rest and look at Twilight. "It is a shame, but she does have to get those seeds planted, and I know Fluttershy is going to be busy with the animals coming out of Hibernation, so that leaves Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Unless she is busy, I know Rainbow Dash will want to come along, but we should check just in case."

Twilight nodded in agreement, then turned to the door at the sound of the bell ringing, and to the sight of Pinkie returning. The pink earth pony hopped her way over to her friends, taking a seat next to them while wearing her enormous smile.

"Heya Twilight. Whatcha doing here? Ooh, is it for a super-secret surprise party? Or a super-secret totally fun adventure that you want to take all of our friends on that will lead us to some incredibly awesome and powerful artifacts? And you just wanted to get us all together because the Princesses wanted you to get those artifacts and you think it would be a fun adventure and you just really wanted us to all spend some time together? Ooh, and is there something about finding an ancient relic of the past that could be super-duper interesting and would totally be worth our time and effort?"

Twilight and Starlight looked at each other before the named princess returned her attention to Pinkie. "Uh, yeah. How did you know?"

"Just a hunch." Pinkie shrugged, but then she crossed her eyes, remembering something. "Oh, right! I do wish I could come, but I have another thirty-seven orders to do, and several other things that just have to get done today. Sorry!"

And just like that, she burst into the air, before disappearing as she flew into the kitchen to work on some project, probably one of the thirty-seven she had to do. Twilight sighed, accepting that Pinkie would have other things to do, and stood up from her seat, walking to the door. Starlight followed quickly after, using her magic to open the door for them while letting Twilight leave the building first.

"Rainbow Dash next?" She asked once they had gotten outside, where the fresh air, accompanied by a slight breeze, chilled them to the bones. It may have been spring, but winter was still in the air, and would be for a while. Twilight put on a smile, knowing that a few friends being busy wasn't the end of the world, and that she could always spend time with them later. She nodded at Starlight's question, and began trotting off in the direction she believed Rainbow Dash's house was in. Not that it was particularly difficult to find, not that many pegasi had giant cloud houses with rainbow fountains just floating around Ponyville.

Starlight waited on the ground as Twilight flew up to the door, wondering if the Wonderbolt was even home, or if she was either napping on a cloud or out practicing. Her silent question was answered after Twilight knocked on the door and the blue pegasus opened the puffy white cloud.

"Twilight, what are you doing here?" Rainbow Dash asked sleepily, wiping the sleep from her eyes, mane testament to the napping she was doing as Twilight knocked.

"I was wondering if you had any plans for today, because Starlight and I are going to go on an adventure that Princess Celestia wanted us to complete, and we wanted to know if any of our friends wanted to come along." Twilight asked cheerily, happy that the moment she said adventure, Rainbow Dash was hooked. In an instant, the sleep was gone from her body, her mane magically straightened itself, and then the pegasus was gone. Before Twilight could blink, she was back, wearing a saddle bag and an adventurer's hat, something her idol, Daring Do, would probably wear.

"You had me at adventure, let's go!" Rainbow Dash said, pulling Twilight down to ground level, where Starlight waited with slight amusement on her features. "Starlight, are you seriously going on an adventure like that?"

Starlight looked at herself, not noticing anything wrong, she looked back up at Rainbow Dash with confusion across her face, to which the pegasus had already formed a response. "You don't have any adventurer gear on you."

"Rainbow Dash, I'm not wearing anything. Obviously, I don't have any adventurer gear, but why would I need gear, we have a super powerful princess, I can cast spells, and you are a strong flier. Why would I even need the gear?" Starlight pointed out, indicating her bare back, then Twilight's wings and horn, her own horn, before pointing at the pegasus in general.

"Well, you have to look the part!" Rainbow Dash was grasping at strings to hold onto, but Twilight joined the debate, siding with the other unicorn.

"Rainbow Dash, this isn't some celebrity showcase, you can wear whatever you want, but Starlight is right, and we don't need to be packing a whole bunch of stuff. Especially if the artifacts we are fetching are big, we will need as much free space as possible. Now let's go see if Rarity would like to join!" Twilight happily used her magic to pull a resisting Rainbow Dash along, while Starlight appeared smug at having won the discussion.

"Whatever." Rainbow Dash grumbled, finally free of Twilight's magical grasp, she flew alongside her friends, matching their pace by flying in circles around them, taking advantage of the distance between destinations to get the information she wanted. "Wait, what is this about artifacts? Is Princess Celestia sending us on another fetch quest, again? Where are we going? Do you even know what it is going to be like when we get there? How old is the place? What kinds of dangers are there?"

The questions didn't cease until Twilight had to ask her to stop so she could speak with Rarity, and that was only when Starlight had pointed out that Rainbow Dash was chatting nonstop while they waited inside the Boutique for their fashionista friend. Rainbow Dash chuckled to herself, surprised that she could keep up talking for that long, though Twilight seemed positively glowing at answering the questions.

Eventually, Rarity made her way back into the sitting area, where the other three girls say waiting. "So, what is it that you required of me, darlings?"

"Well, we were wondering if you had any plans for the day, because the three of us are going on an errand for Princess Celestia, and we wanted to take as many of our friends as possible." Twilight answered, beating Rainbow Dash before the latter could ingratiate what they were doing. It was, in its base, just another fetch quest the Princess of the Sun wanted them to do, even if it was a rather interesting one.

"Oh, I see." Was Rarity's response, which cause the three visitors to deflate slightly. "I do wish I could go with you, but I have another large order coming in from Fillydelphia, and I simply cannot focus on anything else right now. I truly am sorry, but this is a huge order, I hope you understand."

"Oh, it's okay. We just wanted to know if you were busy." Starlight answered for the group, standing to leave and offering a smile, understanding that not everyone was able to just stop what they were doing and go on an adventure. "Let us know how your shipment go when we get back."

"Will do. But before you all leave, may I ask a question?" The unicorn asked, hope in her eyes, and some spreading into the hearts of the others as well. When they nodded, she continued: "Please do tell me everything about it when you get back. I miss the days when we could just stop life for a moment and go out and have some fun, even if the fun was miserably entertaining."

The group shared a smile, knowing that their lives had seemed to calm down quite a bit from their previous adventures saving the country. Then the three departed, not really expecting either Fluttershy or Applejack to be available if Rarity and Pinkie Pie were busy, as the former two were indeed incredibly overworked during the spring, each having their own duties to attend to. So they began the long journey of trekking into the Everfree, towards the old building that housed the artifacts Princess Celestia wanted. As soon as they came upon the dark, gloomy woods that housed so many horrors, Rainbow Dash landed behind Twilight, Starlight taking up position right next to the Princess, both showing apprehension and a slight tinge of fear of the hideous and unnatural forest.

Twilight took in a deep breath, settling her unease with the knowledge that she was fully capable of defending them all if need be, and that nothing bad ever really happened. They would be fine, all they had to do was take the first step into the forest, and then their journey could begin. She took the first step, following the light trail that would led them along the way to the Castle of the Two Sisters. Princess Celestia had told them that the facility they were looking for was near the Castle, so they had to start there.

Not twenty minutes into the journey, Rainbow Dash was already complaining about the purple mages underneath her being too slow. She flew around them in circles, anxious to find the building they were looking for, and it was starting to get to her.

"Come on! Why can't you just teleport us there? I want to get this thing started!" She voiced her eagerness, speeding up her circles around the mares on the land in anxiousness.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with a small, insignificant little fear you have of the Everfree, would it?" Starlight asked smugly, knowing Rainbow Dash always showed extra confidence and energy when she was nervous or scared. The pegasus took the bait, and stopped flying in her circles, landing in front of the unicorn, puffing out her chest trying to look more tough than ever. Key word: trying.

"Ha! No, I ain't scared of nothing." Rainbow Dash was quick to defend herself, but Starlight felt like lightening the mood a bit, and nothing was truly more satisfying than poking a little fun at their egotistical friend.

"Not scared of nothing would mean that you are scared of something, and if I had to guess, that something could potentially be the Everfree forest. Eh, Rainbow Dash?" She wore that smug smirk on her face again, knowing the stuttering pegasus would actually have to think about her response to validate any point she was trying to make. Starlight knew she succeeded when Rainbow Dash snorted in frustration and took off, flying ahead of the group.

As she retreated, Rainbow Dash called back to the victor: "I'm not scared of anything!"

The pegasus, with wounded pride, decided to wait at the castle for her friends, and since they were so close, she could practically see the building from here, she wouldn't have to wait long. She bolted forwards, leaving the two behind her cloud trail as she felt the air rush through her wings, she was quite happy with the ability to fly at super-sonic speeds. It made traveling so much faster.

By the time Starlight and Twilight had reached the castle, they found a napping Rainbow Dash laying in a cloud, just above the shattered gateway into the castle proper. They expected such, Rainbow Dash was easily the laziest of the girls when she wasn't exercising, so Twilight decided to take the moment to try to find the structure, as she wasn't sure where exactly Princess Celestia meant it was. She flew up, and when she couldn't see anything but the trees, she continued to climb.

As soon as she lost sight of Starlight on the ground, she was joined by a cocky Rainbow Dash, who flew up with her, until they were at the same height. At which point she stopped the purple pony princess with a hoof and leaned in to speak over the wind. "I already found the building, it's over there, follow me!"

Twilight listened as the blue pegasus snapped her wings shut and started plummeting back towards the forest below. The ground was getting close at an alarming rate, but Twilight felt comfortable in her wings now, and while she wasn't going to risk getting as close as possible like her friend, here, she wanted to reach the ground fast. Once she felt she had dropped enough, Twilight let her wings catch the air again, halting her above the treetops, while Rainbow Dash couldn't help but show off a bit. Starlight shook her head as the Wonderbolt flew close to the ground before pulling up into a massive loop, then slowly gliding her way over the sea of trees. Starlight used her magic to pull herself into the air, following after Rainbow Dash while Twilight pumped her wings to catch up.

Rainbow Dash let her momentum carry her over the expanse of trees, until a clearing opened up underneath her, at which point she shut her wings and dropped through the gap. She landed with a light thud, hopping to absorb most of the shift in direction, grinning at her athleticism. 'Perfect landing.' She thought to herself.

Starlight landed gently next to her, her magic fading away as she walked over the large metallic doors rising with a stone structure in the middle of the clearing. She walked forward just as Twilight landed behind the two.

The doors looked like solid bronze, etched with strange glyphs neither her nor Twilight understood, and there appeared to be a large lack of any handles. Rainbow Dash followed suite, walking up to the door, wonder in her eyes as she scanned the doors, wondering just how to open them up. Twilight was quick to walk up to the door as well, trying to decipher what the door had on it, and when visual aid didn't help, she turned to examine any potential magical properties it had.

The moment she fired up her magic to scan the door, a crack appeared in the middle, sliding up the center, the glyphs rearranging themselves to look like written text. The glyphs formed neat lines of unreadableness, and then the split widened, and the doors cracked open, dust flying out of the gap. The three took a collective step backwards, watching in stunned silence as the doors opened, and then they peered into the darkness within, seeing only steps that descended downward, into the depth and the darkness.

"So, who wants to go into the creepy dark tunnel first?" Rainbow Dash asked cautiously, trying to look further into the darkness than she could. Then she turned to her friends, caution and excitement battling for dominance on her face, but at the curious glances of both mares before her, she decided to be the brave one, and took a step into the structure.

The first thing she noticed was just how dark it was, the blackness seemed unnaturally thick, as if there was something holding the light outside. She tentatively took a step down, following the stairs as they led her deeper into the building, underneath the dirt. She went no further than a few steps before a light popped up behind her, and she jumped in surprise, leaping into the air trying to get some space. Her heart calmed down a little when she saw that it was just Twilight using her horn to produce some light.

"Easy, Rainbow Dash, it's just me." She said, heading further into the depths, following the seemingly endless steps, Starlight soon following after. Rainbow Dash took a moment to catch her breath before landing on the stone steps and following the others, walking as close as she could to Starlight without trying to look afraid. "Would you look at that."

Starlight walked to one side, while Rainbow Dash took up the other of the princess, staring in awe at the room before them. Twilight's magical light grew, illuminating further the massive cavern they were staring at, with long stone corridors storing side rooms with shelves and shelves of items. The walked down the first one, staring at the locked cages, each bearing unbelievable amounts of scrolls, sealed away in an age long since forgotten.

Rainbow Dash stopped at the edge of another cell, looking inside in wonder, for inside that particular crevice was a suit of armor, pitch black, and obviously made for a large unicorn. It was huge, with a helmet covered in what looked like scales, and the pauldrons were black dragon heads, while the chest piece had swirls that made her desire for the armor insatiable. Starlight walked up next to her, staring at the armor as well, only, when she saw it, the skulls were replaced with typical bowl-shaped metal, and the helmet was smooth.

"I want it." Was all she could say, though Rainbow Dash hardly motioned that she heard, until she nodded in agreement. Twilight, however, was busy staring at the shelves and shelves of scrolls, telling unheard stories, hoarding unread knowledge, information untouched in ages. She walked past each and every crucible, staring at each and every scroll, book, or tome she passed, hope filling that there was a library in here she hadn't even touched yet. She hadn't realized how far she had walked until the cages stopped, and she was staring at an elegantly carved wall relief, depicting the two sisters standing above the mass of ponies. The relief was bordered on either side by thick pillars, one black marble and sapphire, the other white quartz and gold. The floor just below the relief was constructed of jade, in a massive slab that stretched to just before her.

Twilight gasped in awe, amazement again filling her when she thought she was already overfilled with the stuff. It was such a beautiful work of art, it was nearly a crime to hide it away, and she couldn't help herself from feeling like something wasn't right about the place. Why was so much stuff locked away, why was this all hidden away, such beauty, such knowledge, kept from the world?

She walked back to the other two, who were staring at what she thought was a simple gown on a mannequin with what she thought was Starswirl's massive hat. She looked at it, amazed at its beauty, but deciding she needed to get her friends and find the artifacts Princess Celestia wanted.

"Girls, come on. We need to find those artifacts, and the sooner the better, something is odd about this place." It was as if her words broke a spell on the two, as their gazes snapped back from gloss, and they looked at each other, then shook their heads. The two nodded, and turned away from the suit, sparing a single glance as Twilight led them back towards the opposite end of the corridor, where she thought the main artifacts would be.

The princess was not disappointed, as sitting at the end of the straight path was a central chamber, blocked by a single set of bars. She led her friends up to the gateway, trying to figure out what was in the blackened room, as the light died just after the edge of the bars, forbidding knowledge of what lay within. She tapped a hoof to her chin, trying to think of a way to open the bars, as no lever or opening mechanism was visible.

Now that she was thinking about it, she hadn't noticed a lever or button or anything of the sorts anywhere within the compound, it was as if there was a secret way of getting to the items locked away.

Then a thought popped into her head, and her horn lit up as the light she was trying to cast slowly wormed its way through the bars. As the interior of the chamber was revealed to the eyes, the bars slowly retracted themselves, sliding into hidden compartments on the floor. The group let out a singular gasp, watching in stunned awe as a veil shimmered and faded, the apparent empty room morphing into a room full of treasures.

Twilight's eyes nearly popped out of her head, for before her was stacks and stacks of papers and scrolls, all neatly piled on tables of shining marble. Dust had settled on everything, making evident the age of the chamber, and the fact it had remained undisturbed for a long time. What caught the other two's attention was the massive sculpture of the Sisters standing just behind the tables, backs to one another, eyes glowing the colors of fire and water. It seemed as if they were watching over the room, protecting it for the rest of time.

Twilight reached a hoof forward to enter the room, but Starlight's own grabbing her back stopped her. She looked back at her friend, confusion written over her features, and when Starlight motioned for her to look at the statues, she did so. And what she saw made her nearly faint.

The statues were slowly turning their gemstone eyes to face the intruders, who dare to enter the forbidden section. Twilight reeled her hoof back across the threshold, and the statues gazes returned to their original sentries.

"Okay, do we even know what the hay those statues are, or how to get passed them?" Rainbow Dash asked, eyes remaining firmly on the white quartz statue of Princess Celestia, while Starlight's were fixed solely on the black marble of the one of Princess Luna. Twilight looked between the two, thinking for a moment about what she knew of this place, and another thought came to her mind. Her horn lit up, and when she reached across the barrier, the statues remained unmoving.

She returned to her original position, the magic in her horn dying off. "Okay. Starlight, I have an idea, and I think I know how this place works. It's like a magic safehouse, and only those who can use magic are permitted within, which means that it's down to you and me to go in there and find these artifacts. I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, but unless you can become a unicorn for a few minutes, you're going to have to wait out here."

"No problem, Twilight. I can just keep looking around while you two find these fancy things Princess Celestia wants." Rainbow Dash shrugged, eyes already fixing themselves on the unchecked cages, and she was gone before either Twilight nor Starlight could respond.

Twilight looked back into the room, trying to figure out just what it is they needed before they went inside, but her attention was turned to the unicorn beside her by a hoof on her side.

"Twilight, any ideas on what it is exactly what we are looking for? I don't mind the searching, but if Princess Celestia want's a specific scroll, we could be here for a very long time." Her voice was concerned, but not overly panicked, merely betraying her worry over the statues.

"I wish I knew what it is we are looking for. But I don't think Princess Celestia would have sent us here for a specific scroll when there are just so many. I believe she wants us to find something more obvious, something that we will know what it is when we see it." Starlight nodded, understanding what she had to do, but before she could advance, Twilight took her turn to stop her. "Some advice, if you interested? To save your energy, just cast something light, like some light, just a small ball to keep the statues focused on something else."

Starlight nodded, her horn glowing as she produced a small cone of light that pointed at the already lit ceiling. Twilight followed suit, and the two crossed into the chamber, stirring up a tiny amount of dust as they passed the tables. The princess wanted so badly to take the scrolls back with her and see just what it was that they held secret, to uncover the mysteries within the ink written on ancient parchment. But she had a task, a task given by Princess Celestia herself. And if Twilight was anything, it was loyal to her old mentor, and she would complete this task before any personal interest intervened.

As Twilight scoured the room, she slowly became aware of a slight buzzing in the back of her head, something that once she noticed, it got worse. She also noticed the further she got into the chamber, the louder the buzzing got.

She was starting to get preoccupied with the buzzing, so much so, that she nearly bumped into Starlight. The unicorn had paused in front of a single door neither had noticed until then, and she was trying to find a way to unlock it. Twilight took a single look at the door, then used her magic to pry it open, and as the door creakily opened, both mares looked back at the massive statues in the middle of the room. Neither had moved an inch.

But their relief was turned upside down and back into nervousness as firepits lining the walls of the inner chamber lit with magical green fire, revealing seven pedestals arranged in a circle, dipped inside the edge of a lowered dais. The ceiling lifted into black smoke, while a large ice-blue spike jutted out of the center of the central platform. The mares walked into the room, feeling a powerful hum of magical energy replace the buzzing in their heads. As they walked closer, they noticed strange artifacts on the pedestals, items shaped that nearly glowed with magical energy.

Once again, however, Twilight's own attention was focused on the spike in the center, as she could see resting on a branching spike was a circlet of pure silver, glowing bright pink. She walked through the pedestals, much to Starlight's voiced displeasure, and approached the circlet. Almost unconsciously, she reached a hoof up and brushed it against the band of metal, feeling the raw energy contained within. Surely this was what Princess Celestia wanted, yet. . .

Twilight turned a hoof from the circlet, feeling something drawing her towards one of the artifacts she had passed; a strange, tribal monkey-looking item. As she observed it, it seemed to radiate with potential, and while it looked like wood, the air around it felt ice cold. She looked over at Starlight, knowing what they had come here for, it was all of these artifacts, and they had to get them all back out.

"Starlight, this is what we were sent here to get, so let's grab these and go, I don't feel right in this room, something about that pillar." Twilight was muttering, eyes still firmly locked on the statue before her, something about it just seemed powerful. Almost, almost _alive_. Certainly ancient, possibly more ancient than Equestria, yet she wasn't sure how ancient.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Rainbow Dash was burdened with several of the artifacts as the trio went back to Ponyville with their loot from the adventure through the hidden facility Princess Celestia told them about. Twilight and Starlight were also burdened with some of the things they decided to take with them, mostly consisting of scrolls and books, but they were using their magic to hold everything. As they trekked through the forest, the conversed about what they saw, mostly with Rainbow Dash and Starlight speaking excitedly about the various items they wished they could have examined.

Twilight was silent for the majority of the journey, content to remain within her silence as she studied the artifact she held onto. She had summoned her favored clipboard and was dutifully taking notes on both everything that had occurred, detailing everything she saw, heard, smelt, felt, and tasted. Starlight and Rainbow Dash had left her to her own devices, knowing that when she got to studying, she would not be distracted.

That was the reason they justified their actions with, but the hidden one they wouldn't admit to was that when Twilight went into her 'teacher-mode', or as Rainbow Dash loved to put it; 'egghead-mode', she could rant. And rant, and rant, and then rant some more on every tiny thing about the topic on hoof.

The two had silently agreed to avoid that, as they still had to get back to the castle with their supplies, and the studying would not include the blue pegasus. No, she would never be caught dead doing the sciency stuff Twilight loved, had to retain that 20 percent cooler than everyone else thing. As it was, though, Starlight was nearly as excited about looking into these artifacts as Twilight was, and she was really looking forward to getting Sunburst's opinions on some of these relics of ancient pony magic.

Starlight pulled one of the scrolls she carried out in front of her and carefully opened it, eyes burning through the ancient parchment, gleefully absorbing everything the scroll detailed. Well, she was gleeful until she got through the first paragraph, then she discovered that the scroll she had chosen to read detailed farming. A massive scroll, with the potential of holding untold numbers of secrets, only containing beginning methods of farming. To say she was disappointed would have been a massive understatement.

Scowling in distaste, she placed the scroll back in the bundle with the others, opting to take another out and try her luck again. While she did that, Rainbow Dash busied herself by pulling one of the larger books from her saddlebags, blowing dust off the cover.

When the coughing fit had subsided, she examined the cover of the book, all too keen to judge her choice simply by the cover, and she was pleasantly surprised by the selection: the title read _"Techniques of the Best; A History on Flight Formations of the Wonderbolts."_

"Ooh, yeah!" She performed an air-pump with her hoof, then opened the book and immediately diving into the course material. The best thing about having an egghead friend, to her, was in situations like these, where her induction into reading has opened up so many possibilities for her. Anything to do with the Wonderbolts, and she just had to know what it was, even if she had to devote time to reading, something she usually reserved for Daring Do. In her mind, it was totally worth it.

"Glad you found something worth reading." Starlight remarked dryly, having pulled three scrolls, and each of them were detailed taxes, something she was sure not even Princess Celestia would find interesting. Sighing, she tossed the scroll back into the rest, accepting the boring trip back with head held high, though she increased her pace just enough to hear what Twilight was going on about.

Her ears perked in interest when she heard the princess murmur about the artifact she held before her. Something regarding an ancient magical device holding power from the stars.

"Wait, what was that about the artifact?" She asked as she fell into step next to the other purple pony, glancing curiously at the clipboard holding the notes. Her eyes quickly scanned over the report, and then she stared at the object just before them. It was a brown earth-pony looking object, the very same one that the princess had gone to when they found that room in the bunker. She got a closer look at it while Twilight distracted herself with a scroll that hopefully held something about the strange artifact.

Starlight used her own magic to pull it closer, examining the strange thing. She didn't like the brown and green, highly muted colors, but the sitting position the pony was in, along with the tribal mask and strange item in its hooves caught her interest more than enough. She peered at the mask, thinking it looked oddly familiar, but unable to place a hoof on where, but the striking image of it settled with her on a strange level.

"Nothing!" Twilight suddenly burst out, causing Starlight's concentration to falter, and the artifact dropped from her magical grip. Twilight leaped into action, using her own magic to halt the descending object's eminent impact with the soft earthen trail they were following back towards Ponyville. "There isn't a scroll further on the subject that this artifact has, with only a single mention saying it was powered by the stars. Maybe either Sunset Shimmer or Princess Luna will know something."

"Surely Princess Luna would know a thing or two about it, seeing as how it is supposedly powered by the stars." Starlight mused, the trio continuing on their way. The purple ponies shared their amazement at the curious artifact, while Rainbow Dash flew slightly overhead, deeply entranced by the information she held in her hooves.

The three finally managed to free themselves from the Everfree Forest, and welcomed the bright sunlight still filling the air, though it was approaching evening. Starlight shared concern with Twilight about how long that had spent underground, as it hadn't been that long of a trip, nor did they feel a lot of time pass while they were underground. Still, they weren't entirely worried, as the adventure had proved to be a massive success.

Twilight had to force Rainbow Dash back to the castle, as the Wonderbolt had wanted to keep her book and head back to her cloud home and read every page. Twilight wanted everything in place for when she gave her report to Princess Celestia, and that meant having everything in one place.

Much to Twilight's disapproval, however, Rainbow Dash simply refused to be parted with the book, and though Twilight understood the desire to read, she needed this to go well. Any request from Princess Celestia was of upmost important to her, and she had an unchecked craving for approval from the white goddess. As she wrote her report for Princess Celestia, Starlight and Spike went through the heap of scrolls, scanning through them in interest, while the non-scroll artifacts sat on a table nearby.

"And, done! Spike, if you would kindly." Twilight said, using her magic to offer said dragon the sealed message, detailing what she had seen and found. Spike took the scroll, sucked in a huge breath of air, then let loose his green flames, which engulfed the scroll and devoured it, leaving a sparkly green mist in its wake. The mist consumed what was left of the flames, then shot out of the nearest window, soaring towards the recipient of the message.

While they waited, Twilight joined the other two castle inhabitants in reading everything the scrolls had to offer, and while they all deeply enjoyed learning what they could, something bugged Starlight. Not a single scroll had any information that could be used in the defense of Equestria, and a majority of what they had in the scrolls were just records of the early Equestrian society. She was beginning to doubt the success of the mission, but her thoughts were interrupted by a second burst of green flames, coming from the poor dragon. She caught the sealed scroll before it landed, however, and popped the seal to read the contents aloud.

" _Dear Princess Twilight,_

 _I am most pleased to hear that the mission was a success, and I wait expectantly for a more thorough report from you detailing the contents of what you discover. I will inform my dearest sister of the strange artifacts you have in your possession, as she was keener on what they were at the time. I hope she has more information on them than I do, but I am simply unaware of any such artifacts under our protection. I shall search our libraries here in Canterlot for anything related to star-powered artifacts of old, and will inform you of any findings._

 _May the rest of your investigations prove fruitful, as these artifacts could be just what we need to protect ourselves now that the School of Friendship is fully operational._

 _-Sincerely, your good friend, Princess Celestia."_

"Hmm." Twilight hummed as she raised a hoof to her chin, thinking about what she could do, as Princess Celestia had given her full control over investigating the artifacts, researching just what they were and what they did. But she was still confused about the lack of any information regarding that particular artifact that had caught her attention so early on. At this point, she was really hoping that Princess Luna had something that would shed some light on this whole mystery. "Well, as it stands, we have no information to go off of, and we wait for Princess Luna to give us whatever she has. I say we just take these scrolls into the study, and then move the artifacts to the basement."

Starlight and Spike nodded, the former taking several scrolls in her magic grip while heading towards the study, with Spike approaching the artifacts on the table. As he reached up, Twilight politely pulled him away from them, moving him with her magic to the mountain of scrolls.

"Sorry, Spike, but we just don't know enough about these artifacts to know if they are safe to handle, yet. We have to be careful, I hope you understand." She offered a sad smile, but the dragon understood why she was being cautious, as she had lectured him a lot about handling potentially dangerous objects in the past, and he simply nodded in agreement. He went to the table, grabbing handfuls of scrolls, then began the slow journey of shuffling a large number of items away.

Twilight looked over the brown and green statue one last time, then used her magic to grab the bundle of strange relics. She walked carefully down the stairs into the basement, watching the artifacts as she descended to keep them safe. Once she was securely down the stairs, she placed them on the central pedestal, the one that had held the magic rings earlier. She positioned them in a circle, as they were originally, around the central artifact; the silver circlet. The pink glow had faded, but the artifact still nearly pulsed with magical energy, confirming to her that this was indeed what Princess Celestia had wanted.

Now, all she had to do was conduct her experiments, and find out just what she could about these things. Princess Luna would be here soon to give her the information about that strange star-object, and in the meantime, she could examine the others. Maybe she could find something about them that would tell her how they could help protect Equestria, something like the Elements, maybe? She pulled out her oh-so faithful clipboard once more, and began to peer at the artifacts, her quill scribbling away detailed drawings of the various objects. She walked around the pedestal, papers flying from her clipboard into a stack on a nearby table, sketches nearing their completion.

Once she had recorded their appearances to her satisfaction, she pulled the circlet from the center, hoping to use some of her new spells to examine its enchanted properties. Within her magic grip, the circlet felt powerful, yet strangely also had an icy tinge inside her head. The cold faded away after a short period, so her concern dissipated and she continued casting various detection spells at the object.

"Twilight! It's time for dinner!" Spike called from the top of the steps, breaking the named princess' attention, to which she sighed in exhaustion. She hadn't even noticed the time fading, even with Spike prolonging the time before their evening meal so she could study. Her stomach growled, and she knew that it was indeed time to head upstairs for the night. She carefully placed the circlet back in the center of the pedestal, and began the ascent into the castle proper, casting a single longing glance back at the artifacts she desperately wanted to study.

That night, Twilight had very energetic dreams about the artifacts, though she had stayed up as late as she could, hoping that Princess Luna would show up at some point to give her information about that particular artifact. Which did not happen, but at least she was able to think about what she was observing already, and that led her to dreams faster than she would have liked.

Twilight was awoken by the sound of eager tapping on her door, and when she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see that the sun hadn't even risen yet. Grumbling tiredly, she rolled out of bed and stumbled her way across the room, opening the door clumsily with her magic. Clearing her eyes with a hoof, she was surprised by her guest, who just so happened to be Princess Luna.

"Oh! Good morning, Princess Luna, though it is a bit early, is there anything I can help you with?" She asked, her mind slowly catching up and turning on the rest of her senses, which only reinforced exactly how tired she was. Her body ached from the long journey to that bunker, and she hadn't rested enough to recover fully.

The princess of the night nodded in reply, though her expression was deeply apologetic for waking the young princess so early. "Actually, there is. You mentioned to my sister that you had recovered the artifacts we had asked of you, and that you wished her to convey a message to me to examine a particular artifact. I apologize for arriving so late, there were a string of nightmares I had to deal with, and they stalled my arrival. I am here now to look at this artifact you claim to be powered by the stars."

"Oh, I see. Well, just give me a moment to get ready, and I can take you down to it, though I am not entirely sure it is actually powered by them." Twilight explained as she walked back into her room, grabbing a brush and straightening her hair. Nodding that she had accomplished what she needed to, finding herself sufficiently groomed, she led Princess Luna towards the basement, unlocking the door with her master key. "I read in a scroll that there are several artifacts of old that were powered by the stars, and one of them matches the description of an artifact we had found in that facility."

The princess of the night followed shortly behind the purple princess as they cleared the stairs and approached the central pedestal. At this point, Princess Luna took the lead, approaching the lighted objects with a curious look upon her face. She cocked her head to the side, using her magic to lift the circlet from the pedestal, bringing it closer for her inspection.

"This is indeed what we had in mind for the defense of Equestria, but that was it, these other artifacts are not what we were expecting. I congratulate you for retrieving so many items from the vault, but I know nothing of these other objects." She said as she set the circlet back down, lifting another object to inspect it. Her eyes glinted with fascination, knowing that these artifacts were indeed old, and that she hadn't seen many of these ones in quite some time. However, one in particular caught her attention, as she hadn't seen it before, so she set the artifact down, walking to the far side of the table, wherein sat a brown and green earth pony tribal statue. The magic was calling her to it, and something about it felt so very familiar, yet she wasn't even familiar with the statue. "I presume this is the object you inquired for my knowledge about?"

"Yes, Princess Luna. I read in a scroll that briefly said some statues had power from the stars, and gave a description similar to this one." Twilight nodded, walking to the pedestal, facing the opposing side to Luna. The purple princess used her magic to summon the particular scroll, levitating it over to the blue royal before her. Princess Luna deftly opened the scroll, her eyes burning through the contents, deciphering the old Pony tongue as easily as reading the Sunday newspaper.

A frown soon placed itself upon her brow, and her eyes narrowed as she read and reread the contents on the report, not understanding the information.

"This isn't right." She said suddenly, catching Twilight off guard, before she continued without a breath between. "I am aware of power statues using my constellations, but this isn't the type of magic that I allow. Something about this artifact is not settling with what I know, so this statue cannot be Equestrian, or at least, not from our time period."

"What does that mean?"

"This statue is not mine. If it uses the stars, then not the stars that I provide, and I have no power over it. I am sorry, Twilight, but I simply know nothing about this artifact. The report was written by scholars from the time just after the defeat of Discord, and I hadn't made many artifacts at the time of this. I know we salvaged many items from early sites around the ancient Equestria, and this must be something from one of those sites." Princess Luna picked the statue up with a booted hoof, eying it with a curious glint in her eye. She peered into the eyes of the statue, wondering just what it was that she could learn from it, but that was a task Princess Celestia had bestowed upon the young princess. "Very well, My dearest sister had asked you to discover what secrets are inside these artifacts, if you ever need my assistance, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Okay, but what do I even do about these?"

"I have no idea. These artifacts are old, and very, very powerful. Maybe try using your detection spells to root out power sources and the like." Luna answered with a wave of her hoof, already beginning to walk towards the stairs, Twilight following in tow right behind her. "I am sorry, Twilight. I don't have anything to work off of, so you are in a better position to study these artifacts, Celestia tells me you always excelled in your studies. This should be no different. Good luck, Twilight. And good morning, as well."

With that, the princess of the night left the castle, stepping into her chariot pulled by the night guard, and was gone. The sun was just beginning to rise across the eastern mountains, with the moon still hanging just above the western ones, awaiting its mistress to bid it day.

Twilight shut the door, feeling both nervous and incredibly excited, as she was given full leave to study ancient and powerful artifacts by both rulers of Equestria. She rushed to the kitchen, since she was already up, might as well get started on that research she was given. She ate a quick oat breakfast, taking the bowl with her along her way down to the basement, eating without missing a step, though she nearly tripped on the landing below.

So begins the study of an ancient and powerful set of artifacts that would be used in the defense of the motherland. She used every spell she could think of, studied every artifact with every device she had available to her. She took magnetic scans of the items, put the artifacts under the night sky, and when those results were used up, she turned to magically charging the items. She found the circlet and two of the other objects to have the greatest reactions towards her magic. While, very much to her dismay, the others showed little activity towards everything she threw at them.

The artifact she wished to unlock the most, that strange tribal pony statue, had done little, nay, nothing to spark any activity. It fueled her frustration to no end. She only wished to understand how it worked, what it did, and how she would be able to report her findings to Princess Celestia. She spent nearly all of her time in the basement, working and studying away, avoiding her friends as much as she could. Starlight spent some time with her, helping her in a few experiments, but mostly kept herself upstairs.

Not that Twilight minded, this was huge, and she needed to devote as much time as she could possibly spare in this research. But that was part of what was bugging her the most, no matter how much time she spent in the basement, often staying up for days on end; it was never enough. She had cracked the defenses for the circlet and the active artifacts. She had sent messages to Princess Celestia detailing just what she had learned, but only on those few.

Now she found herself finishing another two-day binge of studying and experimenting, with little results. She had recently decided to try using the power within the circlet and some of the other artifacts to activate the dormant statue, but had yielded absolutely nothing. At this point, she was close to tearing out her mane in frustration; not only had she hit a wall in this study, but her friends were constantly nagging for her to spend time with them, to 'hang out.' She didn't have time to hang out. This was important business! The protection of Equestria was something that one could not simply shrug off and work towards at a later point in time.

No, she had to devote all her time to finding out how these things worked. Her experiences with the invasions of Equestria have proven that this was a necessity that one could not responsibly shirk.

And at the end of this day, with Starlight helping her clean up the basement after another unsuccessful venture towards activating the statue, she was near her breaking point. Starlight had just went upstairs in a huff, stating she didn't appreciate how she felt Twilight wasn't listening to her or their friends. Twilight was too preoccupied staring in frustration, nay, anger and fury at the statue that remained vigilant in its unresponsiveness.

She was really upset with her friends, with the world, with that blasted statue that didn't reveal its secrets to her! She was getting very upset again, but she felt entirely justified, as this could be the key to preventing any further difficulties with invading and hostile forces ever again. All she had to do was figure out how this _stupid_ artifact worked, how to open up its secrets, and learn what it hid.

She felt the urge to let it all out, but with everything happening as it was, she wasn't sure how to. Eventually, she felt the familiar tug from the artifact, and she looked at it, yet it remained silent, deathly still. The basement had faded into the dark, sweet bliss of silence, yet the statue seemed to urge her to act, to break this veil and voice her needs.

Her lungs filled with air without her even thinking, and before conscious thought could take over, she began to sing:

"I want everyone to like me. I want everyone to like me real bad. I want them all to approve of me. Because when they disapprove of me, it makes me feel sad." She stepped through the room, the lights fading everywhere except what looked like a spotlight centered on her. "I want them to know what I know, to see me."

"If it takes a hundred years, I'd like them to find the source of knowledge. I would run to embrace them." She leaped into the air, her wings propelling her forward as she landed on a table, swinging onto her hind legs as she gestured towards the world above. "I'm not that kidding. I'm very diligent when you get to know me. To do the tasks before me. We can find how these statues be."

Twilight glided from the table, landing gently before the pedestal, eying the objects that lay upon it with gentle, tender love. "All our knowledge put inside, only then will I be satisfied. Want someone to tell me one time: 'We found what these things do. Why don't you lie down a couple years, I'll look after Equestria.'"

She picked up the statue of the pony, holding it like it could break at any moment, gazing at the soft curves of the head, staring at its eyes. "A family, and a home. Some good friends at my side, only to keep me satisfied. I want everyone to be like me."

She gently placed the artifact back on the pedestal, her hope dying down inside her. "That's one thing I know for sure, I want everyone to like me. 'Cause I'm a little insecure."

Heading towards the stairs, she offered one last, tired glance towards the statue, offering one last sentence. "I just wish everyone was like me."

And with that, she called it a night, prepared for another busy day in the morning.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Walking down the hallways the next morning, Twilight was surprised by the utter silence in the castle. Not a peep came from anywhere in the building, nothing from the kitchen, meaning Spike hadn't made breakfast yet, nothing from the library, which meant Starlight hadn't gotten up yet. And no noise came from anywhere else, the silence built to a level the princess found nearly peaceful. This was a lot better for her than the bustle that usually accompanied the morning.

She got into the kitchen, preparing to ask Spike for something to eat for breakfast, as she had a busy day of studying to do, but she had to stop at the door. The kitchen was completely empty. She looked around in the room, it was so still, making obvious the fact it had been unused since the night before.

Now Twilight was confused, she hadn't expected to be the only one up at this time, it was almost eight-o-clock! Spike was supposed to be up and starting on his chores by now, or at least preparing breakfast for them. Starlight was a grown mare, she could do as she liked, but Twilight had become accustomed to the studious unicorn being up bright and early for some studying or whatever. And now that the artifacts were here, and with so much to learn, it was confusing the princess why her friend was not down here preparing for a day just like she was.

Shrugging, thinking it was probably just them taking a little longer to get up, as Spike was prone to reading his comics late into the night, she wasn't worried. Why should she be?

Walking into the room, she made her way to the bread cabinet, grabbing a couple of slices of bread to make herself some toast. Settling into a seat at the kitchen table, she placed the bread in the toaster and sat down, using her magic to grab the butter and a knife. Once the toast popped out of the toaster, she levitated the slices to her, applying a generous amount of butter to them, feeling she was going to need the extra energy for today's study session in the basement.

As she began to chew on the toast, however, Spike finally walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes with sleep. She watched in silence as he approached the refrigerator, waiting for him to say something, while she finished the toast in her mouth.

"Good morning, Twilight. Hope you had a good night's sleep." He finally said, pulling out a wrapped plate of cookies from the fridge and taking a seat across the table from her. She frowned at his choice of breakfast, but before she could mention it, he had begun shoveling down the food, it disappearing faster than her disgust and surprise could appear. "Ah, that was good! Well, I would love to stay and chat, Twilight, but I have a big list of things we need here, and I might be gone for the day."

"Wait!" Twilight said as Spike rose from his seat, holding onto the rapidly empties plate. "What's that rush? You literally just got up."

"Like I said, I have a lot of things I need to get done, and Owlowiscious isn't going to be a much help for the chores I need to do today." He replied with a shrug, walking over to the sink and dropping the plate into the empty basin. He washed his claws with the tap, then quickly washed the plate clean of any stray crumbs before putting it in the dishwasher.

"What about Starlight, couldn't she help you with anything? I know she has a lot on her plate right now, but I'm sure she would love to help you out."

"HAHAHAHA!" The sudden burst of laughter took her by surprise, and she wasn't sure how to react to the gesture. "Oh, wow. Twilight, sometimes you say the funniest things. We haven't spoken with Starlight ever since that incident at that village. Oh, that's just hilarious, Twilight. That you just say that she would love to help little 'o me with my little 'o chores. What a joke!"

Twilight sat there stunned, not sure whether to call him out on this peculiar behavior, or how to even process why he would find something like that funny. Of course Starlight lived here, this was her home as much as it was theirs, and why would he even mention the village? That was so long ago, and Starlight had more than made up for that incident, so why was this coming up now?

She sat there contemplating what was going on, but decided that he must have just been really tired, or just sleep-walking. Yeah, that sounded plausible, he was sleep walking, years don't just pass without realizing it, and he was good friends with her. She was probably still asleep, she did work really hard, with everything that was happening. Figuring that her number-one assistant was just having an odd day of humor, Twilight stood up from her seat, thoughts already whirring in her head about what she could examine on the objects this time.

Walking down the stairs into the basement, something felt off about the room, and with the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end, she was overcome with a sense of wariness. Cautiously making her way into the depths of the basement, she didn't immediately notice anything was off.

Carefully approaching the pedestal, the off-putting feeling in her rose considerably, and she wasn't able to pinpoint where it was coming from until she was able to get a clear look at the artifacts resting on the table.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, at least, not until she could look at the contents on the pedestal, for the tribal artifact had gone missing!

Feeling worried, very alarmed, and concerned about the culmination of unease within her, she began to panic, knowing just how vital that artifact was for her research. She needed to find it, and the sooner, the better. With her head whipping from side to side, she scanned the room, flying over every table, searching through every drawer, but to no effect. The statue remained missing.

Feeling her heart-rate beginning to climb, she researched the entire floor, clearing all doubt that the artifact was down there. Satisfied she wasn't missing anywhere, but equally worried, she turned to the stairs to search up there, though she wondered why anyone would have brought something out of her research lab.

Just as she reached the stairs, however, she was suddenly stopped by an irresistible urge. She landed at the base of the crystal steps, feeling the urge to halt for a moment, to take in a breath. Turning around once again, her breath hitched in her throat, so awestruck was she by what lay before her.

"What are you?" She whispered to herself, captivated by the power floating before her. Her eyes fixed themselves steely on the golden orb of magical energy that had appeared above the pedestal, bobbing in the air as if riding invisible waves. The orb made its way across the room, stopping in front of the wonder-filled Twilight.

The orb began circling her, making her dizzy as she tried to keep it in her sight all along, and even though she was beginning to get queasy, a smile spread across her face. The energy coming from this golden orb was radiating the room, filling it and energizing everything, and everyone. After three revolutions around the princess, the orb settled just a few feet above her, bobbing in place, like a log in water. Yet, before Twilight could think of what to do, the orb started to shift, the intensity of the light brightening, then softening, pulsating in wide bands. Then, in one final bright flare, the orb shifted, the shape starting to take a more recognizable form for the princess to understand.

Twilight gasped in surprise when the glow died down enough for her to open her eyes, as floating just above her was a solid golden pony figure. The pony was nearly as large as a book, and as it bobbed in a mystical breeze, Twilight noticed that it bore no wings, nor was there a horn planted upon its head. Bathed in gold, this floating earth pony bobbed closer to Twilight, turning its head as if it was looking around the basement, observing the room in all its scientific glory.

"It is a you wished, Princess Twilight." The words came from no mouth, yet the sound most definitely originated from the golden pony, which surprised the named princess enough that she collapsed to the floor. Her eyes snapped open almost immediately, and she was back on her hooves before the floating earth pony could gently float over to check on her. She pointed a hoof at the pony, then opened her mouth as if to speak, but when no words came out, she closed it.

She opened her mouth to speak again, and was met with little improvement, though she managed to make a stuttering sound. She repeated this a few more times, achieving nothing more than unintelligible sounds, before giving up and simply staring at the floating figure before her.

"I realize this is a lot for you to take in, so breath." The figure motioned with a golden hoof, raising it as if it was taking a deep breath, then reversing to gesture. Much to its delight, Twilight obeyed, inhaling deeply, then exhaling with exaggerated noise. "Good, now on to the matter at hand. Oh, right."

The figure looked down at its hooves, then the golden head rotated to scan the rest of its body, the golden aura taking a slight rusty, orange color to it. "In this case, I assume it would be more accurate to say matter at hoof."

"Um. . ." Twilight began, her brain slowly starting to return to normal, and she was shaking her head as she tried to understand what was happening. "What exactly are you?"

"Straight to the introductions? I like it." The figure nodded, then proceeded to float closer to Twilight, acting as if it was swimming in the ocean. "My name is Seven, and I am a wishing statue, and I am here to help you adjust to the wish you made."

"Wishing statue?"

"Ah, yes. I didn't think you would have heard of what we are. Well, to put it simply, a wishing statue is simply a wishing star that has come from space to assist those that wish upon them. I chose the statue's form based on the inhabitants that first wished upon me, which were ponies of old. It's been quite a long while since the last time I was wished upon, and I am dearly thankful that you did so." Seven replied, nodding happily while floating ever closer to Twilight's face, getting uncomfortably close.

"So, let me get this straight. You are a star, that came down from space because somepony down here just wished on you? And that when I made a wish, whenever that was, you chose to come to life? Does that mean that you were that statue? The one that we found in the bunker?"

"One and the same." Seven nodded to each question thrown his way.

"This is insane! There is no way that this could happen." Twilight backed away from the golden figure, feeling light-headed and her vision was flickering while her head pounded. "There is just no way that you are real, I have to be hallucinating! Maybe I have been spending too much time down here in the basement. Maybe I just need to spend some time outside, hanging out with my friends."

"Actually, about that." Seven spoke slowly, as if trying to find a way to broach a sensitive topic. Twilight started turning to head back up the stairs, yet again, but she was blocked as Seven rushed around her putting itself between her and the exit. "You see, you made a wish to have everyone be like you. I granted your wish, and your friends are going to be like you, and they all know that you are very busy, and that they shouldn't bother you while you study. After all, Princess Celestia _did_ ask you to research about these artifacts. So, study."

Twilight huffed, trying to think of a way around this, but with her headache getting worse, she promptly decided that arguing with a figment of her imagination just wasn't worth it. She went to the pedestal, noting the remaining absence of the artifact, and while she refused to believe in the talking pony beside her, she wanted to learn what she could from the others while she could.

"How does it feel to have the entire castle to yourself, especially when you need the peace and quiet to study?" Seven asked, floating over her in circles while observing the princess take notes below.

"It would be nice to have some peace and quiet, but at the moment, I have to listen to you. So, right now I am enjoying the lack of interruptions, nothing more, because you are just a creation of my mind, and for some reason my brain decided to give me company. Princess Celestia asked me to do this, and I want to know as much as I can, but you are not helping in the slightest. Thanks brain." Came Twilight's bitter response as she tilted the silver circlet towards her to not how the light glinted from the magical aura.

"Again, I am not a figment of your imagination, I think you truly just have too much built up emotion from all the interruptions. Maybe this break was exactly what you needed, though there are a few things you may not agree with regarding your wish." Seven replied with a chuckle, as if knowing the subtle taunt towards the ignorant princess. When she offered no remark to the living statue, it took it upon itself to carry the conversation. "Like take this for instance, your friends pride themselves in their diversity, and you yourself have said that it was your differences that forged your bonds. Yet you then wish for them all to be like you. How very uncharacteristic of you."

That caught her attention, she put her trusty clipboard down, turning her head upwards to look at the floating illusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing of any importance, just that you made a wish for me to turn all your friends just like you, which would drastically alter how they behave. Why, I would go so far as to assume that the changes just make turn them into entirely different ponies, barely recognizable to you, who would remain the sole unaltered Equestrian." Seven spoke fondly, as if enjoying the thoughts floating it its tiny golden head. It began to hum, tapping a hoof bathed in swirling light to its chin, mimicking the motion of a thinking pony. Twilight felt unnerved by the humor this thing was displaying, and she had to turn to inward reflection to wonder just what it was talking about.

 _Maybe I really just needed to spend some time outside, doing something other than study these things. I have been spending a lot of time down here, and maybe this is my subconsciousness' way of reminding me that I have other responsibilities to attend to. I might just have to go talk to one of the others, and with Starlight out, Spike going grocery shopping, maybe I should visit somepony else. Rarity?_

 _Excellent choice, my dear._ Her thoughts were interrupted by a golden head popping into her mental exercise. _I do suggest we head over to your friend's establishment immediately. Or, is it considered her house? Because the Boutique is her Ponyville store, so it is an established marketing building, but it is also her residence. Hmm, something to think on, I suppose._

"Definitely in my head." Twilight muttered as she began her ascent from the gloomy basement, feeling slightly more relieved the moment she shut the door behind her. The most relieving aspect was that the apparition had decided to remain behind, nearly confirming her suspicion that it was simply her imagination, and that she only had to go outside and take a little break. Just a little one though, she didn't have all the time in the world to dilly dally around. Princess Celestia gave her a task, and she would follow through with that task until it was completed, or she admitted defeat.

Her mood was brightening considerably by the minute, as she made her way from the castle into town, though something felt off about it. Most of the residents were busying themselves with various chores or tasks, shopping, carrying items around, the usual. But there was an air of tension, and amid the silence, Twilight felt chills run down her spine. Still, a visit to Rarity was eminent, and she would quell the unease before it got out of hoof.

The trip across town was rather short, and now that she had an opportunity to get some fresh air, she was feeling positively glowing. Maybe the walk had a larger impact than she had previously thought, or it could just be that she was no longer delusional, and that stupid, annoying floating pony was not bothering her anymore. She was happy, either way.

Upon arriving at the Boutique, Twilight entered without knocking, it was a public store after all, and found the silence within to be especially unnerving. She walked through the foyer, hoofsteps echoing in the building, bouncing off the walls and back into her sensitive ears.

"Rarity! Are you here?" Twilight called out, entering the large antechamber that dominated the majority of the first floor. It took a whole minute for the response to come, but eventually, a frazzled-looking Rarity walked down the steps, her mane in a highly unusual mess. The fashionista barely looked up from the book levitating in front of her, and her tone rang out as if she wanted to hurry this along and continue her reading.

"Oh, good afternoon, miss Sparkle. I apologize, but these fashion trends _must_ be thoroughly studied, I'm afraid, and that has been cutting into my time recently. Were you looking for somepony?" Rarity paused at the foot of the stairs, taking the moment to place the book on a nearby shelf, removing the glasses from her face as she did so. The unicorn walked over to Twilight, looking her up and down as if she was figuring out what to dress the princess in.

"Um, actually I was looking for you. I was wondering if you have time to hang out?" Twilight asked as she followed her friend towards the rear door leading to the clothes in the back.

"I'm sorry, Princess Twilight, but I don't know any 'Rarity.' There isn't any resident here named anything so ridiculous as that. Also, I have several rather important papers I need to do research on and while I relish the thought of having a gathering with a princess, I must admit we don't know each other all that well." Rarity paused to turn around, looking Twilight dead in the eye, but the princess was already blindsided by the words flowing from her mouth.

And to only add to her confusion, Seven took this moment to pop up, flashing into existence behind the unicorn, head turning from one mare to the other. "Part of your wish I'm afraid."

"Not right now, you talking-illusion." Twilight snapped at the floating pony, which caught Rarity off guard a bit, and she flinched back, as if taking the words directed at Seven. "What do you mean that no resident is named Rarity? Your name is Rarity."

"First off, my name is Twilight Sparkle, the same as everypony in this town. It is Sparkle Metropolis, after all. And secondly, I don't appreciate the snappy comments." The unicorn replied harshly, face hardening into an unpleasant glare as she stared down Twilight. "So, if you are here to purchase anything, please do make it known what you want, and I will see to it that you get it. Otherwise, please do make yourself and your little pony friend sparse."

Twilight was struck into stunned silence, she didn't know what to say, or how to respond to that, so she just nodded to Rarity and walked out of the store. Just as she got to the door, she heard Rarity mutter under her breath: "Good riddance, too many papers to read, and all these stupid interruptions."

Seven followed Twilight out of the Boutique, though it spared her no words, letting the reality sink in. Eventually, Twilight let out a breath, ready and willing to bring up the question she was forming.

"What was that about, Seven? I think at this point it is pretty obvious that you are not simply just a part of my imagination, as Rarity commented on you." Twilight paused mid step to ask the golden pony, who was floating just behind her. "I just can't believe she would act like that, we are good friends!"

"She was simply trying to get back to her studies, you know how you can be when you get something that you really want to study. She was merely acting as you would, nothing more. She has books and papers to read, and you were taking her away from them." Seven replied nonchalantly, as if this was a situation it dealt with on a regular basis.

Twilight wasn't a fan of that, and she was getting irritated over how uncontrollable everything was seeming to become, and she needed a release. She found the perfect target just in front of her. "Look mister! I don't know if you think this is funny, but you shouldn't just mess with ponies' lives. They don't deserve to be meddled with!"

"Okay, you what you are perfectly right. However, I am not some 'mister' I'll have you know. Do I look like a male? And I have only done what you asked me to do."

"I never asked you to change ponies."

"How do you know everypony is changed. I mean, you haven't observed the entire town. Don't make assumptions that I have done something unless you have proof that I did do it." Seven answered with a smirk, already making plans to show this entitled princess why consideration was important. "For all you know, it was only Rarity that was drastically changed. After all, isn't Applejack careful? Isn't Fluttershy meticulous? Isn't Rainbow Dash thorough?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Take a look around, this isn't the same town, but not everything has to change. Let's go around Sparkle Metropolis."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Twilight and Seven made their way down the purple-paved streets, the former voicing her confusion over the sudden changes to the town the entire time. The first thing that caught the princess' attention was the streets as they made their way through the empty ones, heading directly towards Sugarcube Corner. The paved paths were laid out entirely in a solid purple stone, glistening slightly as if the stone was from the Crystal Empire. Her eyes found themselves glued just in front of her hooves as she stared down in wonder at the path, though her admiration was cut short by Seven speaking to her.

Looking up from the ground, Twilight noted that they had reached Sugarcube Corner, home of both Pinkie and the Cake family. Something felt off to her, as though the building itself was exuding an aura that felt wrong to her, yet when she looked over to Seven, the floating golden mare seemed indifferent to the changes.

Shrugging, Twilight reached a hoof to step up to the door, but felt herself stop and with a sudden wave of nervousness, she hesitated. She lowered her hoof and looked over to Seven. "What changes should I expect to find in there?"

"Nothing too major, I would imagine. Pinkie already loves lists, and I'm sure finding new recipes to make is something that she already thoroughly labors over as it is." Seven shrugged, floating her way to the door and using her magic to open it wide, Twilight followed behind after a second's pause.

At first, nothing seemed any different from before: there were a few ponies sitting around the booths, but not too many this early in the morning. The one thing that stuck her as odd was Mr. Cake walking behind the counter from the kitchen, face glued in the pages of a book as she and Seven approached said counter.

"Can I get you two ladies anything?" He asked, book hardly lowering from his muzzle, though Twilight thought she slightly peeked his eyes as the book bobbed in time with his breathing.

"Yeah, can I get two large milkshakes, a banana split with extra chocolate syrup, and two of them large fizzy drink-things you guys sell?" Seven spoke up, her head never shifting from the large menu posted on the wall with items and prices on it. As Mr. Cake put the order into the cash register, Seven led Twilight to a random booth, sitting down rather lazily, her head plastered to the table as if she was exhausted. "Man have I heard things about this place. The guys back at the office won't stop raving about this being the best food joint in any world. Have to say; I am very, very excited to try out the famous Sugarcube Corner."

"Wait what?" Twilight shook her head, clearing the wandering thoughts taking hold of her mind as she tried to understand what Seven had just said. "What was that about an office?"

"Oh yeah! Back where I work, you know. That whole wishing star thing. You didn't honestly believe I spent that whole time just sitting around in that dusty old building, did you?" Seven explained, picking her head off the table as a tendril of scent made its way from the kitchen, floating teasing just above her head. "I saw you three heading that way, and I saw the wish in your heart, so I decided to make a quick stop, knowing that my talent would be useful for you. Looks like I was right, and man oh man do I love being right. Is there really any feeling better than just simply being right about something?"

Twilight was about to respond, but a short, but very excited squeal made its way from Seven's mouth as Pinkie approached their booth. Seven happily clapped her hooves together as Pinkie laid the items on the table, putting a soft-drink and a milkshake in front of both of them. The banana split went in the middle of the table, and as the pink waitress finished, Twilight tried to get her attention.

"Hey Pinkie, we were wondering how your day was going?" She spoke as Pinkie's ears flicked back and forth. The pink pony looked down at Twilight with something similar to confusion in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. But I'm afraid I don't know any Pinkie. My name is Twilight, I mean, its sooo obvious, isn't it? This is Sparkle Metropolis, after all, and all the ponies here are Twilight." The pink pony replied, her cheery mood coming into existence for a brief moment before something visibly clicked in her head. She blinked rapidly, then shot off into the back of the kitchens again, leaving a confused Twilight staring at the dust cloud she left behind. All the while a very satisfied Seven was munching down on her milkshake in one hoof while the other reached for the banana split.

"So. . . What do you think? Everyone, sorry every _pony_ , is just like you, and pretty soon, I imagine Pinkie Pie will be experimenting with some new recipes or another." Seven paused mid-gulp of her milkshake, then the straw dropped from her jaw as she tapped her chin with a golden hoof, until a lightbulb appeared above her head. "Oh, maybe I should just refer to everypony as 'Twilight' now, oh yeah. That's going to be great, because it is just so correct! They are all like you now, and they should be named accordingly."

"This isn't right." Twilight muttered to herself as she returned her gaze back to the table, an absent-minded hoof reaching for the milkshake in front of her. "This just isn't right."

"What do you mean, this isn't right? This is what you wished for; for everyone to be just like you, and that is what is happening, all your friends, all those annoying strangers constantly interrupting you. They are all going to leave you to your much-adored studies, so you can finally finish that assignment Princess Celestia assigned you."

"I didn't think this through, because I love my friends the way they are, and I would never ask them to change. We have been through so much together, and their uniqueness is why I enjoy them."

"Yet you still made the wish." Seven replied smoothly, letting the milkshake go undisturbed as she met the original Twilight's gaze head-on. "You think that this change isn't all that great, but just wait until you see how things are improved for your remaining friends. Just imagine how much better things could be for ponies like Applejack or Rainbow Dash if they just opened their minds to books."

"Umm, well. I guess it couldn't hurt to check on them." Twilight murmured, looking down at the milkshake just in front of her. Her head stooped slightly as she considered what benefits there were to this change, and it wasn't long before she had a neat, orderly list arranged in her head of the best attributes of her friends, and the possible favorable outcomes of these changes. The first outcome she considered was the improved literacy and knowledge her friends would have, and maybe they could overlook this with just that.

Twilight was on the verge of accepting the change as possibly helpful to her friends, when a commotion from the kitchen startled her from her thoughts. She looked up from the table to see herself standing at the counter, taking an order from the Crusaders. She shook her head, trying to process the mirror image of herself, but every time she saw the new Twilight standing there, the more she was confused. Her gaze returned to the smirking Seven, who was chuckling at the sight before her.

"Ah, yes. I suppose I should mention one tiny little aspect of the wish you made that I haven't covered yet. After some time, all the effected ponies will start to literally turn into you. They will behave like you do, they will think like you do, and they will literally look like you." Seven answered the silent question, her attention suddenly shifting from the curious princess sitting across from her to the ice cream desert in front of her. In one swift movement, the golden pony had swooped the entire bowl of creamy deliciousness and with mouth stretched impossibly wide, swallowed the whole meal in a single gulp. "As seen here by our great, dear friend Pinkie Pie. Now known as Twilight Sparkle, Assistant of Sugarcube Corner."

Twilight soaked up the words silently, and when Seven had finished, her gaze rested once again on Pinkie Pie. She looked back at Seven, who had happily returned to her milkshake, before deciding to simply switch between the two ponies. She sat there in silence, and even when Seven had offered to finish her drink for her, she remained mute. Eventually, after the mystical, wishing pony had cleared their table of any potential food, the two made their way out of the store, with a steadfastly quiet Twilight dragging behind as she processed the turn of events.

"It isn't all that bad Twilight." Seven spoke up after five minutes of trotting through town, following the purple path between large buildings constructed from stones of purples and pinks. Many of the storefronts had banners and flags floating in the wind, with each and every one bearing the same symbol; Twilight's cutie mark.

Twilight stopped in front of one store, branding a large number of smaller banners and flags, each covered in purple and her cutie mark, and she felt a mixture of anxiety over the world, and a sense of muddied happiness. It was true that she was now free to do whatever she wanted, but was this cost truly worth it for her?

"For instance, now that Pinkie has the burning desire to read and test every recipe that she can get her hands, er hooves, on, she is going to improve the number of goods that Sugarcube Corner can produce." Seven shrugged nonchalantly, circling around Twilight as the purple pony princess stared into her reflection in the window. "Perhaps you need more convincing that this isn't terrible, and that you have a new life waiting for you here. Let's see how someone like Applejack have learned how to change their lives to embrace this wonderful change."

"Actually, I think it would be best if we didn't maybe we just need to head back, because I do have some work to do." Twilight said slowly, as if her thoughts were slowly coming to her in a thick fog. "Let's head back to the castle so I can do some more studying on that circlet, and to maybe figure out what other secrets lie within those artifacts. And I need to speak with one of my friends whom I haven't had many conversations with for a while. Maybe she can offer some assistance."

Seven merely shrugged, indifferent to the decision, as she had other ideas already forming in her head about the consequences of rushed wishing. The floating wishing pony hovered over the princess as the two walked at a brisk pace back to the massive castle. As they got near it, a certain structure on the castle roof caused Twilight's breath to hitch in her chest, and it was something she was not entirely prepared to see.

For above the castle, flapping lazily in the gentle breeze, was an absolutely massive purple flag sitting atop the peak of the tallest spire. On the purple flag, and not at all a surprise at that point, was the all-too-familiar six-pointed star. Twilight let out a long sigh, knowing this was a change she was not going to approve of.

Sliding through the doors, Twilight was greeted by total and utter silence, not even Owlowiscious' gentle flapping made a noise, and the silence felt nearly eerie. Moving swiftly, she went straight into the basement, leaving the door wide open as she rushed down the steps, a chuckling Seven floating just behind her as she made her descent. "You weren't kidding, were you? You really did want to get back to the studies, just as you would, I think Assistant Twilight and Fashionista Twilight would agree."

"I just need a quill, and some paper." Twilight muttered to herself as she poofed her favorite quill to her, and as she walked around the room, she remembered what it was that she was doing. "I don't need paper, I need that book! Where are you, book? Book, book, book."

Eventually, a large, yellowed book with a red and yellow sun appeared, and Twilight made a happy noise, ripping the book open to the first open page and her quill went to work at a furious rate.

As she wrote, Seven floating over, peeking over her shoulder curiously, until recognition appeared on her golden ponified face. Her smile turned into a wicked, approving grin as she knew that Twilight was resisting the urge to solve this on her own. Friendship was indeed going to be the solution, and Seven was rather proud. This was turning around faster than she had hoped, all because a wish was made prematurely.

" _Dear Sunset Shimmer,_

 _I regret to have to ask this of you without a proper greeting, but there is a slight problem here in Equestria, and I think I really need your help right now. I hope everything is well over there, and that you are having a great time, I just wish I could say the same for over here. -_ "

"What? I thought this was your wish, that you wanted everyone to be just like you. This sounds like it is a dream come true for you."

" _\- Princess Celestia asked me to find some artifacts for her, and that is what I did, only some of the artifacts turned out to not exactly be what she was looking for. So I have a bunch of magical items that I was tasked with studying, along with a large number of scrolls. The problem is that one of the artifacts may have been actually a wishing statue, and it granted a wish that I had accidentally. -_ "

"Still trying to wrap my head around how you 'accidentally made a wish."

"Because you weren't supposed to grant it." Twilight snapped.

" _\- This wish isn't exactly helping me, and I was wondering if you could possibly help me find for a way to fix this problem. Any information you can find for me would be greatly appreciated._

 _Your good friend, Twilight Sparkle._ "

Twilight set the book down, knowing that she could rely on Sunset Shimmer to get back to her as soon as she could. Now it was only a matter of waiting, and with the time she had, she decided to go about her studies on the objects until she got a return message.

Much to her surprise, the return message from Sunset came a lot sooner than she had anticipated.

" _Dear Twilight,_

 _Things are going great here, though I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble. Can you describe what the situation is? I know there was this one incident over here that happened a while back, and it was supposedly because of some wish sounding just like the one you made. I can look into that, but I don't know what exactly I can do, unless you want me to come over and see what we can find together._

 _Sincerely, Sunset Shimmer._ "

"Seven, if Sunset comes over, will this wish thing affect her?" Twilight asked, putting the book to the side to watch the named wishing pony, whose affirmative nod only complicated the matter at hoof. "Darn it! Okay, fine. I'll see what I can do."

" _Sunset,_

 _I appreciate the offer to visit, and while I would normally love to see you again, Seven says that you would be affected by the wish if you did. So I think it would be the best if you just stay over there and look into that wishing incident, who knows, it may just hold the key to fixing this._

 _Your friend, Twilight._ "

The reply was almost instantaneous, as Twilight had barely closed the book when it started vibrating again. Opening it up, she was greeted to a meager 2 lines.

" _Oh, well then. I look into it then._

 _Seven?_ "

That was when Twilight remembered that she was one of the few that knew about the wishing pony's existence, so she rectified that as soon as she could write it out.

With Sunset helping her, she felt slightly better about her situation, and she knew it was only a matter of time before she had everything fixed and back to normal. She let out a sigh of relief, hoping that this was all over sooner rather than later, because Pinkie her literal copy, and the new look of the town, it was not all amazing. It wasn't unpleasant, sure, but Twilight didn't love the scenic view being replaced by her colors and cutie mark _everywhere_.

"While Sunset is solving that little mystery, how about we go out and check out how your remaining friends are doing?" Seven nudged Twilight, who had resorted to laying on the ground at the foot of the steps. "I'm curious about how the rest of my handiwork turned out. I also really want to see your reactions to how much I have improved your friends."

"While I agree that I am curious to see how _my_ friends are, I don't think everything will be an improvement. I know Pinkie Pie being like me, that just will not turn out well. I don't know how well you know e, but my special talents do not reside in the kitchen, and Pinkie becoming me will only end in disaster if this continues." Twilight responded, shaking her head as she fondly remembered Pinkie's attempts at teaching her how to bake. Oh, the memories. "I suppose while we have the time, we might as well see how the others are doing. Let's head on out to Sweet Apple Acres."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Nodding to herself, Twilight made her way carefully through the town, her recent discovery being it was called Sparkle Metropolis. What amazed her was that not everyone she passed had their face shoved in a book, some even degraded to magazines or plain scraps of paper. She had to keep her head clear if she was to get through this trial of purple pony princesses everywhere. It severely bothered her that things had gotten this far out of control, and she was deeply regretting her wish.

Well, most of her was deeply regretting that wish, because a small part of her was overjoyed that she now had an entire town of like-minded ponies to hold proper discussions with. That part of her mind was screaming for her to take advantage of the fact that she could digest every scientific report on various fields of study with herself, and not think she was going crazy.

Still, the majority of her psyche was extremely uncomfortable with the dozens of copies of herself walking around the purple-paved streets, faces buried in books as they went around their daily lives. She looked to Seven, who appeared to be having a joyous time admiring her handiwork. That was annoying to Twilight, that this strange wish-granting creature found amusement in this disturbing twist towards the inhabitants of Ponyville. It was nigh on chaotic, yet there wasn't much she could do about it now.

All she had to do was check on her friends and make sure they were doing all right, because the last time their lives were changed, all that time ago, it didn't work out. She still regretted casting that spell, even if solving and finishing it did earn her the Princess title, it just wasn't right.

"If I may say so, I do believe this may be just the best part of our lovely walk. All these copies, attentions devoted entirely to their own studies or work. It truly is an amazing sight, isn't it, Twilight?" Seven asked in a dreamy voice, eyes still flitting between the multitude of purple alicorns walking or flying passed them. Twilight let out a sigh of annoyance, hoping to just get through town, because the constant reminder that this town was basically worshipping her made her extremely anxious.

"I don't remember Ponyville being this big." Twilight muttered as they passed yet another city block containing houses and small shops, to which Seven just chuckled deviously. "Another 'modification' from you?"

"Why, yes, my dearest Princess." Seven replied with a mock bow. "I thought more book stores and libraries would be a greatly appreciated adaptation to the town. Especially now that a whole horde of book-adoring, voracious readers occupy said town. Unfortunately, I did have to make just a few more additions to accommodate those establishments, because there simply was not enough space for them."

"Why did I bother even asking?" Twilight moaned, letting her gaze return to the now visible exit to town, her hope flaring up at finally being away from the uncomfortable path. Her hope died shortly before she passed the boundary of town, however, when she saw the entrance: Flags. Flags everywhere. Large, purple banners bearing her cutie mark, and there were rows of them, rows that stretched far beyond the edge of the city, framing the purple path as it wound its way out the distance.

Twilight squared her shoulders, straightening her back, and began to trot forward at a renewed pace towards Sweet Apple Acres. After some time in silence, the apple farm slowly came into view, and Twilight let out a baited breath as she rushed forwards, hoping that things weren't too bad at the farm.

As she passed the wooden fence, she was greeted in silence, not a single farmer was to be found outside, so Twilight walked up to the farmhouse, and gently knocked on the front door. What met her eyes startled her enough that she jumped back in fright, for the creature that answered the door was a miniature version of herself, purple fur, even small wings. The largest difference was that this tiny copy of the princess was that she bore Twilight's cutie mark as well, and things seemed to only complicate for Twilight more and more.

"Uh, Apple Bloom?" Twilight asked tentatively, taking careful steps forwards, head lowered as if to not startle the filly mimic.

"Sorry, ma'am, but I'm afraid the apples aren't blooming just yet. Granny Twilight says we got to wait just a few more months before they start to come out." The purple farmer filly responded, though Twilight was again surprised that the usual country accent was missing, and at that point she was unsure which was worse. "Is there anything I can do for you, miss?"

"Uh, well. Actually, yes there is." Twilight shook her head to clear her thoughts, remembering why she had come here in the first place. "I was wondering if Applejack was here. I wanted to talk with her."

"Well, ma'am. I'm sorry to inform you, but I don't know any Applejack, if you are talking about Twilight, I'm sure she will be back from the market eventually. She went out just a few hours ago to fetch some things we needed. You can wait here if you would like, I'm sure she won't be too much longer."

"Oh, well. Thank you for the offer, but I think I'll just go back into town and see if I can't find her there. Bye, Apple- er, sorry. Bye Twilight." The princess slapped herself with a hoof, wondering if she could even possibly get used to calling others by that.

All too suddenly, the door was slammed in Twilight's face, causing her to flinch back in surprise, blinking rapidly as she recovered. She opened her mouth to form a response to what happened, but nothing came out, so she shrugged and decided it was best to carry on with what she had planned for the rest of the day. Turning around, she frowned at the sight of Seven rolling in the dirt laughing hysterically.

"And what do you find so funny?" Twilight felt a surge of irritation at the growing problem, and here she was staring at its source. "This is all your fault anyways. You didn't have to do this, you could have just simply ignored me! IT'S NOT LIKE I WASN'T JUST SPEWING NONSENSE BECAUSE I WAS TIRED OR ANYTHING!"

"Ohohohoh. That was just hilarious! I can't believe she just slammed a door in your face. Makes you wonder what you interrupted her from doing. What do you think: reading a good book? She was in the middle of baking something? Cleaning? Nah, you don't enjoy cleaning, you prefer organizing." Seven said as she stood up, brushing off the dirt with an idle swipe of her golden hoof. "But seriously, you had to have interrupted something you really enjoy if she was so eager to get back to it that she slammed the door like that."

"Still doesn't change the fact that you are the reason that this is all the way it is right not. All you had to do was ignore me." Twilight muttered as she made her way back towards town, knowing that she was in for a lot longer of a day than she was expecting. Seven soon got up and started to follow her.

"And yes, I could have ignored your wish, but if I had, then I would be shirking my duties as a wishing pony." Seven spoke in a serious tone, something that caught Twilight off guard. "I know you don't like it right now, but if your friends are doing better, then surely this couldn't be such a bad wish to stick with."

"Pinkie couldn't be happy, that would be so terrible, to have to work like me in the kitchen. I wonder just how long Sugarcube Corner would stay in business if this were to stay."

"Eh, I imagine they would be fine, there are three ponies working that shop, I'm sure something would happen that would keep them afloat." Seven shrugged, returning to her favorite pastime of floating circles above Twilight as they passed back into the town. Twilight released a small shutter at the thought of being within such a place as this town. She didn't like it one bit, while Seven on the other hand seemed to quite enjoy the new look, as her frequent remarks at the improved look of the roads and buildings indicated. "Besides, with all the new libraries built up, there would be so much more to do than just bake all day. Just think about all the untouched books waited to be read, to be opened for their first time, and who can you think of that would be better for the job than yourself? With this, you can open all the books, be the first to read them all."

"But it isn't really me opening or reading them, those ponies are all the same, they are just under your influence right now." Twilight shot back, temper flaring briefly before she took a breath to get it back under control. Now was not the time to be getting upset over these things, she had more important issues to deal with. "Now let's find Applejack, so I can prove to you that not all my friends need to be like me for me to like them for who they are."

"After you." Seven chuckled. Twilight huffed, then proceeded down the path, swerving around other Twilights as they passed, the latter ones mostly buried within their own worlds of printed literature.

"Oh, come on Seven. I know for a fact that I don't read _that_ much, what's with all the books being read while they walk around? I'm not that bad." Twilight asked as they made their way towards the market region, well, Twilight was hoping she was heading towards the market. With all the changes to the town, and with the distracting duplicates, she was starting to think she might be getting turned around.

Seven's answer came in the form of hearty laughter that lasted for several lengthy seconds, and it wasn't until the golden wishing pony had collapsed onto the floor in a fit of laughter had Twilight stopped. She waited irritably for her companion to finish her debacle, tapping a hoof on the ground while she focused her attention towards the market that was nearly in sight at that point.

"Oh, my dear, dear Twilight. Wouldn't you be the first pony in Ponyville to march into a brand-new library and see the goodies inside? There are doing what you would, and merely browsing what is being offered within those buildings of knowledge." Seven finally formed a coherent answer when her laughing died down enough for her to resume her floating above the princess. "Now that we are nigh on the market, how do you propose that we find Applejack amidst that mess of Twilights all shopping around in there?"

"Um. Well, I hadn't thought that far ahead." Twilight looked into the crowds gathering around the stalls, each one was a nearly perfect copy of her physically, and she was sure that she wouldn't pick up any specific mannerisms from Applejack. She let out a long sigh, knowing that things wouldn't be easy for her, so she sat down to think about it.

After a mere minute of contemplation, Twilight's brain finally kicked into gear, and she had an idea that she was confident would work. She hopped onto her hooves, then trotted forwards, heading directly for the group, a contented Seven floating lazily above her bearing an intrigued expression.

"Hello, everypony! May I have your attention?!" She called out, using her magic to amplify her voice enough for the crowd to properly hear her. "I am looking for a specific Twilight, but I can't seem to find her. I am looking for Twilight, who works out on the apple farm with Granny Twilight."

The crowd murmured between themselves, and Twilight held her breath as she waited for someone to come forward, and she hoped that it was going to be Applejack herself. But when the crowd returned their attention back to her, each Twilight shaking her head, the princess let out her breath in defeat. She hung her head low and walked away from the market, feeling less sure about herself as she made her way back towards the castle. It was only shortly past noon, yet she was ready for the day to be at an end, so she could fall into her bed and sleep the exhaustion away.

As she shuffled down the road, she felt a gentle pressure on her back, and when she raised her head to look at the disturbance, she was surprised to see Seven curling into a ball on her back, like Spike would do when he was younger.

"Giving up on your friends so soon?" The wishing pony asked as she settled into a comfortable position, all the while Twilight made her way through town. The princess walked aimlessly for some time, before she found herself walking on the southern outskirts of town, where there were fewer numbers of Twilight clones walking about, and where she was able to get some time to think.

Twilight continued outside the town, passing along the purple path as she wandered, deep in thought about how quickly things had gotten well beyond her ability to control. Eventually, she found herself stopped, standing at a familiar cottage, though she was surprised that Seven hadn't commented on their destination. She carefully glanced over her shoulder, only to notice that the golden pony had passed out on her back, lazily napping like a cat, complete with gentle snores that nearly brought a smile to the princess' face. She shrugged internally, hoping that Fluttershy hadn't gotten too badly affected by all the nonsense that was going on, and a part of her wanted answers about the status of the remaining friends she had to check on.

She gently trotted up to the cottage door, knocking softly to prevent Seven from waking, yet after there was no answer, she figured it wouldn't be terrible to wake the wishing pony on her back. She rapped a hoof on the door, stirring the golden pony, and as Seven sleepily yawned away the nap, there remained a steady silence from the inside of the building.

By the time Twilight had accepted that Fluttershy wasn't inside her home, Seven had caught herself up with a quick glance at their surroundings. The earth pony shook her head once to finally wake from her nap, then resumed her habit of floating in lazy circles above Twilight.

"So, you didn't give up on your friends. Good, because I think visiting Fluttershy is an amazing idea, as I did an especially focused book-worminess around the outskirts, because these regions are just so simply barbaric, they needed the improvement drastically." Seven laughed lightly, edging her way around the side of the home, egging Twilight to follow, yet trying to not look obvious about it. She was attempting a subtle message to the princess, who caught onto it far quicker than either would admit.

Twilight didn't grace Seven with a reply, instead choosing to investigate what it was that Seven so badly wanted her to see, and as she rounded the corner, she understood why the pegasus hadn't answered the door: the poor mare had her hooves full with a massive party of animals all strangling around in the back yard. The princess was about to go and see if her friend needed any assistance, but at the last second, she noticed everything that was different all at once.

The first to catch her attention, which came as only a mild shock at this point, was that Fluttershy had become a copy of Twilight, wings, horn and all. That wasn't the unsettling part, though. What stopped Twilight was that her friend was engaging with the animals around her through a book discussion, yet each animal seemed extremely confused about why Fluttershy wasn't there. Apparently, they still remembered who their caretaker was supposed to be, and they were clearly not pleased about this sudden shift in responsibilities.

To Twilight, the most humorous part of this was that Angel, Fluttershy's favorite pet rabbit was clutched firmly in the pegasus-turned-alicorn's grip. The white fur-ball struggled hopelessly in her hooves, and as she tried to get the rabbit to calm down, Twilight cleared her throat and entered the yard.

The area became so suddenly silent, Twilight was able to hear sounds being carried from Ponyville on the wind. Fluttershy stared at Twilight, eyes slightly shrinking into her skull as she froze in place, painfully obvious that she wasn't expecting company at that moment. However, Twilight couldn't worry about it for too long before the animals broke into all chaos, totally confused about what was going on. All they knew was that their caretaker's friend had suddenly taken over her responsibilities, then a copy of that friend was now there with them.

"Hi. I'm Princess Twilight. Do you know who I am?" The princess began tentatively, trying to ease her way closer to the mix of animals, with Fluttershy in the middle, book still in hoof. The princess opened her mouth to follow up her question when she paused at the tapping on her shoulder. She peered around at Seven, who had a hoof covering her own mouth as she pointed towards Fluttershy and the animals. Twilight returned her gaze forward, trying to find out what caught the wishing pony's attention, before it became glaringly obvious, and she had to stare in utter shock and disappointment.

For in front of her, and surrounding Fluttershy, were not the mere animals that usually accompanied the quiet pegasus. No, these foul beings were of the most despicable kind: the horde-minded fans. The bandwagon hoppers. The _Crowd_. Each and every animal bore a bright purple shirt that either had an image of Twilight on them, or they had an image of her cutie mark. Each and every animal had a custom fitted shirt, even the small birds that had quieted and were sitting around. The massive bear, Harry, had the largest shirt Twilight had ever seen, and it was also unique in that it alone bore a massive image of Twilight's face on the center.

Twilight dead-panned the bear, though her gaze more so rested on the shirt, where she stared at the large image of herself. Then her head slowly turned around to face Seven, who promptly fell off her back laughing.

"This isn't funny, Seven. There is no way that this could be an improvement." Twilight was about to continue, but a shadow falling over her stopped her, and she hesitantly turned around to face Harry. The large bear had a notebook in his claws, and he was looking down at the princess with a nervous look on his face, and when he saw that he had her attention, he gently offered her the notebook, along with a quill. Seeing that all he wanted was an autograph, Twilight sighed and accepted the offered utensil, quickly signing the paper before returning both items to their owner. Harry looked down at the signature, then skipped his way into the house, joyously howling along the way.

"Excuse me, ma'am. But we were in the middle of a book club meeting, and while I appreciate a guest. . ." Twilight turned to Fluttershy, hoping that not too much had changed, and just when it seemed like the timid pony would show here gentle politeness, her shoulders hardened and she finished her though with confidence Twilight had rarely seen. "I would appreciate it even more if you had waited for us to finish. Now I have to go and fetch Harry from his room, so if you wouldn't mind."

Fluttershy fluttered above the princess, motioning for her to walk to the front of the cottage to wait. Twilight paused a moment, surprised yet not entirely shocked by the shift in demeanor. Resettling onto her back, Seven simply chuckled to herself, remembering the look on the princess' face as she saw those shirts she had summoned.

Twilight shrugged to herself, knowing that at this point, she was just wasting time while she waited for Sunset to get back to her about that incident on her world. Soon after, Fluttershy returned, with a still visibly happy Harry short on her tail, and the look that the normally timid pegasus had on her face made Twilight question the wisdom in coming here. Maybe she was better leaving the animal lover to her duties caring for the animals, but there was clearly something on Fluttershy's mind, so she remained silent.

"What is it that I can help you with, Miss Sparkle?" Fluttershy asked, her purple horn glowing suddenly, and a book shortly appeared in front of her as she opened it to the page she had left.

"Twilight and I were simply wondering if you would be interested in telling us a little bit about how your life here goes. Being an incredibly knowledgeable pony and all, we wanted to know how exactly you find time to take care of all these animals." Seven offered from the back of the princess. She hadn't even bothered to raise her head, and after she finished her piece, she promptly shifted between Twilight's wings, then started kneading her back. The motion immediately brought to the princess' mind an image of that very same action being done by a cat, but she regained control of her thoughts in time to hear her friend's answer.

"Well, being as intelligent as I am, I would expect you to understand that it is a simple matter of finding the proper books. We are after all, all Twilight Sparkles, and we use our amazing knowledge to solve every problem. I have a lot of books, and they let me know exactly what each species needs in order to live, and I use that knowledge to help these poor animals survive. Foal's play, really."

"That doesn't sound like something you would do, Fluttershy." Twilight gasped, taking a step back as she tried to understand the implications of how her beloved animals were even living with this duplicate. Then another thought came up, and she felt slightly more irritation at the wishing pony still happily kneading away at her back. "Seven, I don't use books for everything."

"Just about." Seven smirked, but didn't stop her current actions.

"Miss Sparkle, I'm afraid I don't know this Fluttershy you seem to be referring to me as. I would like it if you called me Twilight, or Miss Sparkle. Either works, I don't really care which, though. Now, if that is all, then I would like to go back to my animals, as I'm sure they are as anxious as I am to continue our book reading discussions from earlier." Fluttershy said as she began to fly back to the huddle of animals that were staring at the pair of princesses before them. Twilight let her go, knowing that she simply needed to get an answer from Sunset soon about this, maybe then she could find a way to reverse this mistake, and get her friends back to the way they needed to be.

Twilight began the slow walk back into town, praying to Celestia that she got an answer soon, because she wanted her normal friends back.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Twilight was getting seriously distraught over the changes accompanying her friends, and she was starting to develop a nervous twitch that Sunset hadn't returned any information from the incident on her world. She sat in the castle library, burying herself in as many books as she could find on the topic of wishes, and she had even sent a letter to Princess Luna asking for assistance.

That was an hour ago, and while she was sure that the Princess of the Night was just busy, she feared that this wish was also beginning to affect the royal Sisters. If that was the case, she had several more important matters to contend with, alongside getting her friends back to normal. The more she thought about it, the more dire the situation became, and the more severely she needed that information from Sunset.

Seven had tried to improve the mood, often commenting on the progress in research and scientific study that was sure to happen because of this, but nothing seemed to get through to the princess. After an hour of basically speaking to herself, the wishing pony just accepted that Twilight was unwilling to listen to hope, and had chosen to resume her habit of floating in circles above the busy princess. Twilight, on the other hand, had taken up a tradition she had long-since abandoned, and had built a small book fort to help her focus, something she appreciated all over again ever since her filly days.

She spared a moment to reminisce on the past, enjoying the memories of her childhood, embracing the happiness she had felt, and a sliver of joy rooted in her heart again. She just had to remind her friends of who they were, and that would fix this! The book fort exploded outwards as she sent each piece of stored knowledge back to its assigned place in the library.

Seven watched in curiosity as Twilight merrily trotted out of the room, before shrugging and following after her. Twilight led the way back into the town, trotting along the purple paved path, heading somewhere that Seven couldn't fathom. The golden wish pony simply followed silently like a puppy, floating in circles idly.

Seven was contentedly circling the princess, musing over how drastically things had changed, until she nearly collided with a copy of Twilight. This copy had been flying above the streets at a high speed, Daring Do book practically glued to her face.

"Rainbow Dash, I presume?" Seven muttered as Twilight caught wind of the words flowing out. Seven waited for the reaction that she was certain would be slightly entertaining, knowing she just had to survive the rather awkward introduction between the two purple ponies. She glanced up at the evening sky, noting that it had indeed been an interesting day to say the least. She stared at the brilliant color slowly taking hold of the heavens as the sun began its descent towards the western horizon. The bright oranges that bled through the sky, rich pinks and royal purples painted onto the bottom of the clouds. It was at that moment, as she lost herself in the natural beauty of this world, that she came to the realization that she hadn't spent nearly enough time just enjoying eternity.

As Seven stared into the sky, gazing at the natural wonder of the clouds in the approaching sunset, the twin Twilights had finished the confusion that encompassed the princess interacting with a nearly perfect clone of herself. The wishing pony's attention snapped back to their conversation as Twilight tried to explain to the weather pony turned Wonderbolt about a pony that had existed just the day before. Rainbow Dash wasn't entirely enthusiastic about the princess trying to get her to act like an arrogant, athletic pony who was too busy engaging in meaningless physical activity over solid, acceptable studying.

Straight out of the gate, Twilight was already starting to regret putting so much effort into her studies as she grew up. She was certain at this point that Seven had just exaggerated her reliance on books and studying, maybe to prove a point. But what point?

"All I am saying, Miss Sparkle, is that there could be no way that I am this 'Rainbow Dash' you speak of. My name, as is the name of everypony here in Sparkle Metropolis, is Twilight Sparkle, so if you would kindly use that name, it would be appreciated." Rainbow Dash said, flipping a page in her book, then her eyes immediately homed in on the top and she began reading. Twilight let out a huff, then pulled the book from Rainbow Dash's grip with her magic, catching an irritated glance from the latter.

"I realize you may think that your name is Twilight, but that is _my_ name. And this isn't 'Sparkle Metropolis,' this is Ponyville." Twilight explained, waving her hoof around in the direction of the nearby buildings. "None of this is supposed to be like this, but a certain _somepony_ had to go and mess with things."

"Alrighty, then." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, focusing her glare at the book levitating right next to the princess. "There is no logical way that I could be this Rainbow Dash, as I would have to have some memories of being her. Because I lack the mentioned memories, we can conclude that I am actually not Rainbow Dash. I am Twilight Sparkle, captain of the Weather team here in Sparkle Metropolis, and I would like to have my book back."

"Fine. I'll just call you Twilight, but you cannot have your book back until we fix this. That means that I need you to at least try to remember anything about yesterday. What were you doing? Where were you? Who were you with?" Twilight replied, pulling the book farther away from the mimic as a purpled hoof reached forwards to grab it.

"I was working. We had a few rogue clouds that took an extra bit of work to clear out. I was working with Twilight, and Miss Sparkle to move the storm clouds from the area around Sparkle Apple Tree Farm."

"Actually, that is Sweet-"

"And then I went home to enjoy a relaxing day of organizing my bookcase and am currently in the process of rereading the Daring Do series."

"Who are you?" Twilight whispered to herself in shock, backing away slightly from the pony before her, someone who was so familiar, yet totally distant. "Seven, what have you done?"

"I think this is for the better, Twilight. They will all be better, and all you have to do is accept that." Seven replied evenly, eyes switching between the two ponies. She stared at Rainbow Dash a brief extra moment before shrugging, and the book suddenly pooped into her hooves. Rainbow Dash nodded in her direction before her wings flared and she took off, purple trail following as she soared into the sky.

Twilight gave Seven a flat stare that promised words were going to be shared later, then she leaped into the air, hoping to at least catch up with her friend before things got too far gone. Seven lazily followed, performing her ritual of circles, somehow maintaining them even at the rapid speed that they were going at.

Twilight flew as fast as she could, hoping to catch the dust trail left by the Rainbow Dash turned Twilight Sparkle. She got a break in the form of the duplicate Twilight landing on a cloud with her Daring Do book in hoof, making obvious that some habits just won't go away. As Twilight neared, she saw Rainbow Dash settling into the cloud, preparing to take a nap, and the princess took this as her opportunity to try to talk some sense into her.

"Rainbow Dash, will you please just listen to me for a moment?!" She called out, landing on the very edge of the cloud, a little too close for the named mare's comfort. Which became evident between the two as she was forced to sit up, whilst leaning backwards, and even then their muzzles were basically against each others'.

"I already told you, I'm not Rainbow Dash. Now can I please get some peace and quite so I can take a nap?" The copy asked impatiently. The two Twilight's stared into the other's eyes, and for one, it was a very uncomfortable sight, trying to find a piece of a friend that she was sure was in there somewhere. The other, however, was uncomfortable with the proximity of a strange-acting inhabitant of Sparkle Metropolis. After several highly uncomfortable moments, the duplicate Twilight backed off slightly, leaning just enough over the edge of the cloud to stay on it. Her efforts were in vain, however, as the princess leaned forwards, keeping an intense expression on her face as she tried to stare through Rainbow and to her soul. That was the feeling the non-princess princess got from the focus in the other's gaze. "So how about you just go on your way and find that friend of yours, eh?"

"How did you get your cutie mark?" Rainbow Dash had to shake her head, trying to process the question she was just asked. She blinked rapidly several times, all to no avail, as she remained steadily confused.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"How did you get your cutie mark?" Twilight repeated, still staring her down.

"Why does it matter?" Rainbow replied with her own question, she was getting more and more uncomfortable by the second, and she had reached for her book, pulling it close to her.

Twilight kept staring her down, looking for the brashness that was nearly overwhelming in the Wonderbolt. "Because I want to know if you are still you, or if you have completely changed."

"I'm me, and there ain't no pony that can change that. I don't even want to know who you are miss, and I don't want to know why you think I'm somepony I am obviously not. If you are done with your absolutely weird questions, I would like to leave. Then you can go and find whoever it was that you were looking for." She said as she gave a short salute before she leaned back and fell off the edge and plummeting towards the ground below. Twilight was briefly worried about it, until the copy showed her Rainbow Dash aspects, her wings flared open and she burst away, rapidly disappearing into the distance.

Twilight was tempted to chase after her, but in her heart she knew that she never had the wing strength to catch up to Rainbow Dash. She heaved a sigh, then began to drift from the cloud, Seven repeating her favored activity, and the pair drifted to the ground, finding themselves in a particular situation. The only friend Twilight wanted to see, and the very mare had stopped right before them, most likely due to the fact that Twilight had landed right there.

Of course, Twilight didn't know it that this was Starlight Glimmer, as with every other pony in Ponyville, she was an exact copy of the princess. Twilight didn't even look her way, just continued her sighs as she marched depressingly to her castle.

She was followed by Starlight for the majority of the way, and Seven chuckled to herself the entire way, as Twilight was oblivious to her final friend being right there. Just before the trio got to the castle, Starlight broke from the other two in the same fashion as they had walked: in silence. She walked up a path, and into a small house at the edge of the town, just beside the castle, yet far enough away to be called its own property.

Twilight approached the castle, and the trip was filled with the constant snickering of Seven, and just as she reached the threshold, she had had enough of it. She stopped mid-step and turned sharply on the wishing pony, face showing her irritation in a deep scowl.

"You have been nothing but a bother and a nuisance. What, is Sweet Celestia's name, is so funny this time?" She snapped, catching Seven off guard entirely, making her immediately stop snickering.

"Oh, well. I didn't realize you were this bothered by this, but to answer your question: on the trip back, you walked in silence with the only friend you haven't spoken with yet, Starlight." Seven replied calmly.

Twilight stared at the golden pony who had resumed her circles, and debated whether it was worth the effort to believe her. In the end, Twilight figured she had nothing better to do, and shrugged to herself, deciding that it might as well be worth the effort to check it out. Maybe Starlight would retain some of her old self and be able to help her in this predicament. Twilight walked under Seven, and then proceeded to calmly walk over to the distant house, noting how similar it was to the one in that old village she had dictated in.

Slightly nervous at having an interaction with her final friend, for the others had proven to be slightly concerning, and- she couldn't lie to herself, those interactions terrified her. She was deeply hoping, wishing even, that Starlight would have at least a semblance of normalcy about her. As she knocked on the door, Seven hopped up on her shoulder, glowing somewhat brighter than usual, but not enough for the nervous Twilight to notice.

After a brief pause, the door finally opened, revealing to Twilight what looked like a mirror, until she knew that it was indeed just another copy of her. "Hello, Twilight."

The princess' ears perked up a little, as it seemed that the rest of the residents usually referred to her as Miss Twilight, or Miss Sparkle. She hadn't met anypony that had referred to her as just Twilight. That had her hopes growing, and maybe Starlight just looked like her. Her hoped proved fruitful, making her heart lighten considerably, as Starlight smiled warmly to her and offered the princess into her home.

Twilight smiled her thanks and walked into the small apartment-like building. Starlight led Twilight into the small living room, and offered her a seat, to which she happily accepted, and then proceeded to head into the kitchen to get drinks.

Once the purple pony returned with drinks, she took a seat on the other end of the couch while Twilight prepared what she wanted to ask. However, the duplicate beat her to it, as she looked over to the golden pony floating circles slightly above them both. "Good evening Seven."

Twilight blinked rapidly in surprise, because while she wasn't the first to comment on the wishing pony, she was the only one to have any knowledge of it. She wanted normalcy, not this chaos. "Wha?"

"I gave her a little information about who I am and what was going on, just so you could feel a little better. You made a wish, and I felt like it would be a nice thing to offer, seeing as how rough you seem to be taking things. She isn't entirely normal, obviously, but this is the least I can do for you, all things considered." Seven explained, causing the princess to turn to her, highly confused, though things were just explained to her. Her confusion remained stuck on her face. "She knows who I am, and who you are. I also told her that you wanted to ask her a few questions."

"Uh, thanks?"

"So, what is it you wanted to ask me, Princess Twilight?" Starlight asked innocently, making the named princess turn her attention her way. Twilight inhaled deeply, trying to find a center, now that she had found a calm place to think in this chaotic storm. She centered her thoughts, thinking about what she was going to do, before remembering her task: she needed to find a way to fix her friends. Maybe having Starlight remember who she really was would allow her to fix the rest of her friends easier.

"Okay, um. Well, I guess you already know what is going on so. . ." Twilight began nervously, she really hadn't though enough about this to have a solid plan, and she needed a plan to make this work.

' _Think Twilight. Think. You got this!_ '

"Okay, here's one. What do you remember about friendship?"

"Oh, well. Um, there was this very long lecture you had, over in Canterlot. Long time ago, pretty boring, I have to say. You are a great teacher, and it was only your enthusiasm towards the topic that made it any entertaining. I know that you went into great detail discussing the need for trust, loyalty, honesty, generosity, kindness, and laughter. You mentioned that when those all came together, you had a bond that formed a magic in the form of friendship." Starlight tapped a hoof to her chin as she voiced her thoughts on the subject. As she gave her answer, though, Twilight seemed to deflate, as the answer was tearing away at her desire to hold this conversation much longer. She was grasping at straws for any reason to stay, as she really wanted to help, but this was looking like another lost cause. Yet Starlight didn't stop there. "I had some friends, back when I was a filly, Sunburst being the biggest one."

"Yes I know. And you two were able to reunite." Twilight blurted out.

"I know that we trusted each other a lot, we were honest, loyal, generous to each other, we were kind, and made each other laugh." Starlight stopped tapping to get a sip of her tea, which reminded Twilight to do the same, though she felt rather dejected right then. Starlight seemed to be picking up on this, she had the entire time she had known Twilight, consisting of those last few minutes, but she didn't want to say anything, but now she felt like she had to. "You don't seem very happy, Twilight. What is the matter?"

"Oh, nothing." Twilight said, waving a hoof as if to brush it off. "Just that I made a huge mistake and wished that everypony was exactly like me, and Seven here made that wish come true. Now I have to live with the consequences, meaning that all my friends are now stuck as cheap rip-offs of me, and they don't even have a say in it. Some friend I am."

"If you say that you wished for this, then why aren't you happy?"

"Because I didn't mean for it to come true!"

"You know what the saying is, right? 'Careful what you wish for?' because this sounds exactly like one of those moments." Starlight commented, finishing her drink.

"You don't say." Twilight responded dryly, though her eyes were welling up with tears that threatened to release themselves.

"Well, if you don't like the wish, then why don't you wish for everything to return to normal. Seven said that she granted your original wish, and then she just said that she granted a wish of yours because you needed it. It sounds like she is capable of making that wish come true."

Twilight stared at her friend for a good thirty seconds, wondering how she was able to think of that. Then her brain kicked back into gear, and she face-hoofed, wondering just how she hadn't thought of that sooner. She looked up at Seven, with a look that asked the question of validity, to which Seven merely shrugged, as if saying 'true.'

Twilight looked at Starlight, then jumped across the couch, hugging her. She repeated her thanks over and over for another thirty seconds, to which Starlight merely nodded back uncomfortably, trying to pat the princess on the back. And before Seven or Starlight could react, Twilight was out the door.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Twilight burst through the castle doors, galloping as fast as her legs could carry her through the halls, heading directly towards the basement door. Said door was flung open encased in a purple aura, and the princess nearly tripped as she rushed down the stairs, causing her to slow her pace to a manageable trot. Seven had floated after her, wondering why the princess had ran away so rapidly, all things considered.

Twilight ran up to the center pedestal, where she had left all of the other artifacts, as well as the book she had used to communicate with Sunset. She lifted said book and brought it closer to her, summoning a quill eagerly as she opened to the next available page. In her excitement, she scribbled words onto the page while she spoke her thoughts to her friend about how she had finally solved the problem. She made a note in the book to further reinforce her beliefs in the magic of friendship, giggling to herself that she had early forgotten that lesson again.

She sighed happily as she closed the book, glad that she was able to have at least one friend that was not affected by this accursed wish, though she was even more so that she was finally at a point to fix the problems. Almost immediately, the book began to vibrate and glow, signaling to her that she had a response, and she was all too happy to tear the book open, her excitement only growing as she read her friend's response.

' _Twilight,_

 _I am so glad that you were finally able to solve that issue, and I have to say: you have very convenient timing. I was just about to write to you about what I had found. I don't know if you are still interested, but since it seems that this issue has finally been solved, I think it won't really hurt to tell you what I found._

 _This world has a lot of towns, as it is pretty spread out, and in one of the towns, there had been a group of friends that stumbled on a wishing statue, much like the one you described to me. One of the girls in the group made a wish, and then the very same situation happened to her that happened to you. I'm glad it blew over, as it was revealed that all she had to do to fix it was make a wish for everything to return to normal. Sound familiar? You know, this is all pretty amazing how the magic of friendship seems to seep into everything, everywhere. It's like it has no bounds, just going everywhere, helping friends in need. Anyhows, I'm glad that this whole thing has finally blown over, because I couldn't imagine how bad it would be for an entire town of Twilights. No offence._

 _Well, hope to talk to you soon. Your good friend, Sunset Shimmer."_

Twilight huffed at the comment she made, but decided to let it slip, so engrossed was she in how much her joy was spreading. She finally had a solution to this! It was at this moment that Seven decided to speak up, her own happiness filling the room as she floated in slightly faster circles around Twilight's head, lying lazily on her back as she did so.

"Well, this was all one big, fun, and rather exciting day, if I say so myself. I think that we got a lot done, and that there was a good solid lesson to learn." She spoke merrily, looking down at the princess, who had taken to staring her down, though the grin on her face stole any attempts she had at a scorning look.

"Seven, as much fun as I will admit this has been, it wasn't all fun, and I would very much prefer my friends back the way they were before. They are my friends because they are different, and they are all the more better because of it. So, if you would kindly turn this whole thing back, that would be fantastic."

"I'd love to, though to use my power, you must use the magic words, else I cannot do a thing." Seven giggled at the frown that appeared on her muzzle, then a light clicked in the princess' head, and her smile returned.

"Fine then. I wish that all my friends, and the entire town of Ponyville, were back to the way they were before." Seven did a mock bow, acting as though she was standing in the air, because physics, and they she seemed to glow brighter, much brighter than Twilight had ever seen her before. The glow grew so bright that Twilight had to look away, only the glow intensified, and she was forced to close her eyes. As she stood there blind, the princess felt a wave of magic pulse through her, and after a long while, she managed to open her eyes, and though the magic was still in the air, it was slowly fading. Nothing looked different, and as hope slowly rose in her chest, Twilight looked over at Seven, whose shining coat had returned to its normal swirling, molten like gold. The glowing subsided, and Twilight felt the urge to rush over to the wishing pony, and hug her silly. That was exactly what she did, inciting a small eep of surprise from the golden wishing pony, and when she let her go, Seven could only gasp for air, though a silly grin was glued to both their faces as Twilight's excitement only grew and infected the other.

Seven nodded at the silent plea from the purple pony princess before her, and said princess bolted up the stairs, and into the castle foyer. She nearly collided headfirst into Starlight, who let out a small yelp of surprise, until Twilight's brain caught up with her, and she hugged her friend tightly. Starlight could only stare at the princess in equal parts confusion and discomfort. Never the pony type to enjoy physical embraces, she wasn't thrilled by the hug, but she accepted it anyways.

"Uh, Twilight, you alright?" The mentioned princess simply nodded, finally breaking up the embrace, though Starlight's confusion still shone clear on her face. "Then what was that about?"

"I made a huge mistake, and I am so sorry." The answer seemed satisfactory to the princess, but only left the purple unicorn in even greater confusion, her mouth slightly agape in solid confusion. "But I'm so glad that you're back. Now, I gotta go see if the rest of our friends are also back to normal."

Starlight just stared at her friend, the princess of friendship, as she happily trotted out of the castle doors, before shaking her head and deciding that she didn't get paid enough to worry about it. Twilight hummed merrily, Seven popping into existence just above her as they made their way into town, the golden wishing pony catching the interest of several ponies that passed them by. Twilight met Fluttershy and Rarity in the market, both in their respective bodies, and the mere sight of her normal friends not being exact copies of her made her heart lift several pounds lighter. Twilight shared a brief greeting with the pair on their way towards the spa, presumably, but she wanted to make sure the remaining friends were also alright.

Twilight's extreme happiness was not going unnoticed by the residents of Ponyville, but because it seemed contagious, none were really bothered by it. The rest of the town, though always in a somewhat cheery mood, were finding themselves overly happy, if only because their resident princess was trotting through town with a massive grin plastered to her face.

As Twilight went through town, Seven was slowly drifting above her, trying to find some space from the magic of music that was slowly enveloping the princess. Before long, the princess simply couldn't resist inhaling deeply to release the building power of song that had consumed her, filling her over with joy and happiness.

"We've been through so much together, whoa-oh. We've always been best friends." She called out to the sky, prompting the smiling gazes of the towns-ponies as she sang. "Us girls forever, friends until the end. I'd messed it up, making that wish."

Twilight's gaze drooped a little at the memory, until the song pulled her attention towards Fluttershy, who was standing in the audience at the market, a smile on her face. The sight of a friend returned the purple pony princess' mood to one of bliss. "That was gonna push us away, that's it. When I said I loved you, it makes me crazy. Here we go again."

"We all need each other, to save who we are. Stay best friends, through the end of it all, whoa-oh. We're done being wished away, I'm done making mistakes. I'll tell you 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 thousand times." Twilight said as she pulled Fluttershy into a hug, the buttery pegasus shrinking slightly back, but warmed into the hug after a moment. After the hug, Twilight pulled Fluttershy along as she hopped through the crowd, blissfully prancing through town. "Haven't I made it obvious? Haven't I made it clear? Want me to spell it out for you? F-R-I-E-N-D-S. Haven't I made it obvious? Haven't I made it clear? Want me to spell it out for you? F-R-I-E-N-D-S. F-R-I-E-N-D-S. F-R-I-E-N-D-S."

Twilight and Fluttershy ran into a shopping Applejack, who was caught off-guard by the suddenly appearing princess. "We ain't got no shame, we won't be insane: Show them what it's for. No matter what time it is, friendship we relish. Haven't we been here before?"

"Don't mess it up, making bad wishes. Only gonna tear us away, that's it. We ain't got no shame, we won't be insane: here we are again." Twilight repeated her hug, this time wrapping her hooves around the farmer pony, who was pleasantly surprised. "We all need each other, to save who we are. Stay best friends through the end of it all, whoa-oh. We're done being wished away, I'm done making mistakes. I'll tell you 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 thousand times."

She started pulling along the protesting farmer, for the latter still had some shopping to do, until the magic of the music whisked her away on this friendly choreographed adventure. "Haven't I made it obvious?"

Suddenly, though not surprisingly, Pinkie burst out of a cloud of erupting confetti, joining in the musical fray. "Hasn't she made it?"

"Haven't I made it clear?" Twilight called out to her assembling friends. Pinkie's voice falling into tune as well.

"Hasn't she made it clear?"

"Want me to spell it out for you? F-R-I-E-N-D-S. Haven't I made it obvious? Haven't I made it clear?" Twilight asked those who were soon swinging around on banners and just doing the typical dancing that always accompanied songs. Pinkie found herself on top of Ponyville's largest building, swinging atop the flagpole. Fluttershy and Applejack were a little more reserved than the rest of the town, however, and had opted to simply circle Twilight, who was staring into the crowd of dancing ponies. Then Pinkie's voice called over the wave of dancers.

"Hasn't she?"

"Want me to spell it out for you?" The party pony soon echoed the princess, matching her tone and joy in her own way. "F-R-I-E-N-D-S. F-R-I-E-N-D-S!"

Twilight let out a single last long note as the rest of Ponyville joined in, though much to the present Elements' surprise, they saw not only Starlight and Rarity in the crowd, singing their way closer to the princess, but Rainbow Dash as well. The fact that the Wonderbolt herself had fallen to the undeniable power of the magic in the music was more than enough for the trio of ponies to break into fits of laughter once the song had died off. Soon, the entire town had joined in on it, except the remaining Elements, as they were utterly confused as to what was so funny. Though, to be honest, so was the rest of the town.

Shrugging to herself, Starlight helped to ponies back onto their hooves, as the three had fallen to the ground holding their midsections very Pinkie-style. Applejack and Pinkie occupied their attention with wiping tears from their eyes while Twilight vigorously pulled her friends into a big group hug. The rest of the town dispersing back to their tasks, the constant allure of songs not an uncommon occurrence in their quaint little town.

"So, what was that entire spiel about, eh Twilight?" Applejack asked once she had gotten enough of her laughter out of her system, the rest of the group encircling the princess in mutual interest, each wondering why they had just participated in the shenanigans.

"Oh, I just fixed a problem, made a bad wish, and this was me celebrating with my friends the fact that I was able to fix it." Twilight replied, and she was about to elaborate, but Seven decided to make herself known to the rest of her friends, causing no shortage of surprised gasps, some interested, some shocked. Pinkie was neutral about the appearance of the wishing pony, something Twilight made a mental note to ask about later.

"Hello, everypony." Seven spoke with a hint of enthusiasm and humor in her voice, waving a hoof at the gathered ponies, each of whom, minus Pinkie, simply stared at her with mouth agape. Pinkie had decided to just wave back, always happy to make a new friend. "My name is Seven, and I am Twilight's wishing pony right now."

"Hiya Seven. My name's Pinkie Pie. Can we be friends too, because I would love to be your friend. Are you new to Ponyville? Ooh, can I throw you a 'welcome to Ponyville' party? I'm gonna throw you a party! Give me a few minutes to get everything I need to throw you a party, okay?" And just like that, there was only a Pinkie-shaped dust cloud that had replaced the pink party pony as she went on her way to gather her supplies to throw a party.

"Okay, now that that has been dealt with," Starlight turned her attention back to Seven, who shared the even look with the unicorn. "What exactly is a wishing pony? Where did you come from? How did you get here? What happened?"

"One question at a time, please." Seven asked, as the barrage of questions from the curious mare incited the rest to offer their own curiosities to the mix. Seven held up a hoof, silencing them as she returned her attention to Starlight, who had started the Q/A. "Firstly, a wishing pony is exactly that; we grant wishes. I am technically a wishing Star, but this form allows me to interact with those that would wish on me easier. I got here because you, Twilight, and Miss Dash here brought me back with the artifacts you took from the vault. As for what happened, I think Twilight here is more than capable of answering that question for you."

And so that was what happened for the next hour, as Celestia's sun slowly crept closer and closer to the horizon, Twilight explained what had occurred throughout the day. Rarity and Starlight seemed most interested, if only to hear what things had been like. Fluttershy was slightly unnerved by what she heard about her becoming Twilight and trying to take care of her animal friends, Applejack wasn't all that interested, as Twilight hadn't really ran into her. Rainbow Dash was interested, but that interest soon faded into dislike as she heard that she had turned into a bookworm, however briefly. The rainbow-colored pegasus felt that it was a blow to her athletic pride that she would become such an egg-head like Twilight.

"So, after all this has occurred, Twilight, I believe that there has been a very valuable lesson to be learned from about these kinds of things." Seven spoke up as soon as Twilight had finished, not really giving the other girls a chance to process what had happened. The named princess turned her head up to the circling wishing pony, eyes hazy as she thought briefly about what she had learned. Seven wasn't too worried, she had made it so that the lesson was clear, and she was not disappointed by the answer the purple pony princess gave.

"I think the lesson there is to be careful what you wish for, as it may somehow come true. I shouldn't have been so worried about my studies, something that I think I will always be working on-" Twilight answered, a small smile on her face.

"No kidding." Rainbow Dash muttered, causing the other girls to chuckle to themselves. Twilight used her magic to knock the pegasus on the back of her head, playfully, before she turned her attention back to the floating wishing pony.

"And that I should always trust my friends." She finished, which made Seven stop doing her circles, and slowly drift down to face the princess on eye-level. A small smile somehow appearing within the golden swirls.

"Good. Now that you learned your lesson, and will not be making hasty wishes, I think it is time for me to go back to doing the other parts of my job. I got plenty of other hasty wishers that need to be convinced that they don't have to wish for something to be able to change their lives. Have a wonderful day, and may we both hope we never have to see each other like this again."

"Agreed." Twilight took the offer golden hoof, shaking it, before the wishing pony suddenly shot into the air, becoming nothing more than a speck in the night sky. A star to be wished upon by those who needed some help in their lives. Twilight looked at her friends, each noting how the sun had already faded behind the edge of the world, and they silently agreed to go get some rest. Twilight felt the days suddenly slam into her, and she nearly collapsed to the ground, and would have if it were not for Starlight coming to the rescue, catching her by the side. The two walked back to the castle in companionable silence, and they let the night drift by, each heading to their rooms to enjoy a comforting sleep, having both had busy days.

That night, Twilight dreamt of golden ponies that granted wishes, and she slept peacefully through the night, a small smile gracing her lips the whole time.


End file.
